A Walk To Remember
by Queen of Pascalities
Summary: When Sakura and Sasuke meet two years after the encounter in Orochimaru's lair and travel back to Konoha together, insults, chakra enhanced punches, clothes and sparks fly... [SasuSaku][Major OOC][Rated M for a good reason]
1. A Walk To Remember

_**A**__**/N**__: Okay, so this is my first fic, hope you like it____ It is NOT based on the movie "A walk to remember". It's a very cute movie, I admit, but it's also very sad and I, to put it simply, suck at tragedies. _

_Also, this IS rated M for a good reason. If you're trying to keep your eyes virgin until marriage, click on the "back" button in the left corner of your screen, you're not in the right place to fulfill that wish._

_The pairing is SasukexSakura, obviously, since it's mostly about their journey back to the village, and it's my favourite pairing. _

_Last__ but not least, I don't own Naruto. If I did, do you really think I'd be writing fanfics about it instead of making the story the way I want it?_

**A Walk to Remember**

Sakura entered the changing room of the thermal bath station she had stopped at. Actually, making a stop there was mainly for her to find a toilet, something she hadn't seen in what felt like ages. However, when she saw the showers, just next to the toilets, she couldn't resist hopping in one, just to know how it feels to be clean again.

She turned the handle to make the water fall and sighed at the delicious feeling of the hot water in her hair. It dripped down her back and in her face, over her eyes closed in delight. She felt all the dirt of the past few days flowing away on her skin.

She had been sent by Tsunade to find and collect herbs that could help the village fight and cure some kind of mortal disease they just found out about. When she heard her order, Sakura had thought about two or three days of calm and relaxation, just enough far from the village so that Naruto couldn't come and annoy her with his ramen.

But, guess what, she had been wrong. The two or three days of calm and relaxation were actually three weeks of hell, since those herbs were, not only extremely rare, but also searched for by (apparently) all the other countries. She had had to hide in the dirt, fight ninja of other villages, dig the ground to find seeds of the goddamned plant and finally find the plant somewhere far, way too far from the village.

Where she was located at the moment was a little village that was at least at two weeks away from Konoha. The only good point of this misson, in Sakura's opinion, was that she didn't have Naruto or Sai to say stupid things about even stupider things. And of course, she never had to wait for Kakashi to do anything. Honestly, it would have probably been worse if those guys had come along.

But, oh, how she was happy to have finished her mission. She could finally go home, and on top of that, she would go home clean. She reached behind her back to take her bottle of shampoo. Yes, even though she wasn't certain to find a shower somewhere on the way, she had acted like a girl while packing and had taken her strawberry scented shampoo.

She started humming a song while massaging her scalp. Strangely, she didn't sense, let alone hear, someone enter the shower. The person, who was a very, _very_ manly man, hadn't sensed her either, since he was way too tired to do so. He entered the shower, eyes half closed, covered in dirt and blood, almost dead of exhaustion, not noticing that the shower was already occupied.

Uchiha Sasuke had yet to clean his brother's blood away from his body. His encounter with his beloved older sibling had cost him his companions, three quarters of his chakra, his brother's life and his purple belt he had learned to appreciate, even if it was from his snake pedophile of an ex-teacher.

Finally, he had killed Itachi. And on the way, he had also exterminated his brother's fishy companion, Shark Man, or whatever his name was. Killing the two of them had been pretty easy, considering they had killed his team just before. They were so exhausted that he only had to use his Sharingan on them, and then plunge his katana through their bodies fourteen times each, making sure they wouldn't come back like the cockroaches they were.

After burying the corpses, he had stumbled to the first village that crossed his path and went straight to the showers, not even aware of his other surroundings. Nothing could have stopped him from taking his long awaited shower, not even someone in the cabin before him.

Which there was.

However, he didn't go as far as noticing it. His mind was focused on turning the handle and washing away all the blood his brother and Shark Man had left on him. He felt dirty – which he actually was – and stained for life – which he might be too.

His energy was practically worn out and he could barely stand. He would have gone for a bath, but his legs didn't feel like walking more. He plopped down on a bench and proceeded on stripping himself of his clothes. Even if his black pants seemed stainless, his (not so) white shirt (anymore) showed huge spots of dried blood. Oh goodie! He'd have to clean all of that before putting them back on, which meant washing them in the shower with himself.

What a wondrous perspective.

Without further ado, he hopped in the cabin and under the flowing water. Oooh, it felt _so _good! His usually spiky hair flattened on his head, his bangs covering his eyes. Only after relaxing a bit, he heard a soft – and slightly out of key – humming from behind him.

Judging useless to use the remaining of his chakra just to sense the stranger's, he simply turned around and looked. Unfortunately, after seeing what – or rather who – was behind him, it was all he could do.

Look.

Stare.

Drool.

_**God**_** no!**

Definitely not drooling.

And yet…

No. He did _not_ drool. Uchihas don't drool. But fix intently, they do. His mind finally pushing the "on" button of his brain, he was at last able to register the image in front of him. An image rather familiar, although he had never had (the chance) to see it before. Never ever had he seen this pink-haired girl naked, in a shower, washing her hair.

And oh, how he regretted that.

Yet, he could still not remember who that could be. Her hair color rang a bell in the "memory" part of his brain. Yes! She was part of his past. Wait, it was coming. Konohagakure, when he became a Genin, his team mates, a loud and idiotic blond boy and… Damn, who was it? He was sure she was someone important… Flirty, annoying, motherly… Sakura! Haruno Sakura!

Yes!

Oh damn…

"_Tell me I'm dreaming…_" he begged his brain.

So he had fallen on the only team mate of his who would never use violence on him. Or so he thought.

Sakura had finished washing her long pink hair. While running her fingers through it, she thought to herself to remember to cut them when she was finally home. Still humming she finally activated her chakra-sensing mode and felt around herself. No one in front, no one on the left, no one on the right, no one below or above her, no one be-

Wait a minute! Yep, someone behind! Someone tall, familiar and highly… masculine…

_**Masculine?**_

Oooooh, no! Not good!

Swirling around, she intended to slap the guy and give him one of her darkest glares.

"Sakura."

She didn't.

It was far worse.

_**A/N**__: Yay! First chapter done! Took me… looks at her watch two hours and forty-seven minutes. Wow I'm good! Okay, not perverted yet. BUT! It'll come… eventually…Oh well, I'm gonna start off with the second chapter right away!_

_Ja!_

_Queen of Pascalities_


	2. Punches and Strawberry Shampoo

_**A/N: **__Soooooooooo… second chapter, here it comes! I know Sasuke might be OOC, but hey! We've never seen anything going on in his head in the manga or anime, except when he's fighting, and it's my fanfic, anyway, so I can do whatever I want! I could decide I like yaoi incest, make him revive his brother and fall in love with him! _

_But I won't do it…_

_Anyway, happy reading!_

_Swirling around, she intended to slap the guy and give him one of her darkest glares._

"_Sakura"_

_She didn't._

_It was far worse._

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

Chakra-filled punch, meet handsome face.

"ITAI! HEY, WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"

"FOR SURPRISING ME TO DEATH _AND_ BEING IN THE SAME SHOWER AS ME! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE ANYWAY!?"

"STOP SCREAMING!"

"I'M NOT SCREAMING!"

"NO, YOU'RE YELLING!"

"Uh… AAARGH!"

Normal weak punch, meet beautifully muscled and naked chest.

Wait.

**Naked?**

Sakura's eyes went wide. Naked. Both naked. In the same shower. Touching. At least six inches apart. **Naked.**

**Hell, **_**no!**_

She emitted a small yelp, covered her breasts with her arms and turned around so that her back was facing him. She turned her head to still be able to see him and shot him a glare mixed with a gigantic blush.

"What's wrong? Nobody's ever seen you naked? I mean, if my memories are correct, I've seen you in your underwear when we were Genin. It's no big deal." Sasuke said with a hint of scepticism.

Apparently, the Uchiha genius didn't know how to talk politely to women. Otherwise, he would have known better than to say that seeing her naked was no big deal. She raised her fist again, ready to punch him and gathered chakra in it. As she swinged it at him, he winced in expectation and closed his eyes, ready to bear the pain.

"What's wrong? Would you be scared of getting hit? Or are you scared of me?" Sakura asked playfully.

"None of those. I just don't want to be punched by a fist as weak as that. They say the weakest can hurt the most." He replied.

"Oooh, so you're scared of being hurt." She said in a fake sweet way. "Well too bad for you."

And chakra-filled punch met handsome face again. They seem to like each other.

"Aah… You've gotta stop doing that!" He spat.

"Well you gotta stop being so arrogant," she replied, turning her back to him again. "And you didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?"

"I'm taking a shower," he answered sarcastically.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. I wanna know why you're in _this_ village, in _this_ thermal bath station, in _this_ shower."

"I killed my brother a few miles away from here, this was the first village on my path and I was too lazy to go in the baths. And in case you didn't notice, there is only one common shower."

"Wrong. This is the women's shower. The men's is on the other side of that corridor. You're not allowed in here."

"Oh… Well, too bad. Anyway, just admit you're happy you ran into me. Now you can beg me to come back to Konoha with you again."

Sakura raised her fist again, a threatening look on her face. It was amazing how that oh so simple move would make him raise his arms in defence as if she were really evil-looking, and as if he were a poor defenceless child.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

"Yeah, you meant it as much as you meant that apology!"

"So what?"

And again, and again, and again, chakra-enhanced punch met handsome face. They were thinking about getting married, but they had to have the approval of their owners. Unfortunately, said owners didn't seem to want that very much.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Me!? What the hell is wrong with _you_?"

"What do you mean, what the hell is wrong with me? You were the one who punched me!"

"You deserved it!"

"Ahem, excuse me?" Came a voice from outside the shower. Both Sasuke and Sakura jumped three meters high before answering in unison:

"WHAT?"

"You might wanna know that men and women can't be in the same shower. I will have to kick mister out."

"Oh, no, it's okay, he's my boyfriend and we were gonna come out anyway," Sakura said matter-of-factly.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke whispered.

"Just play along, please" she whispered as well.

"No fucking way!" He silently yelled.

"Erm, well, we put that restriction especially for couples who'd want to take a shower together. We don't want our employees to have to wash that… stuff… If you know what I mean."

"Yeah, yeah, gomen. We're going out now… Could you… ? Please?"

"Oh! Right, gomen, I'm going. Have a nice day!" The poor member of the staff sounded so nervous, it was almost hilarious. Unfortunately, if any of them both had started laughing, they would have been sued by the other without hesitation.

Sakura waited until the employee was gone and the door was closed. As soon as she heard the soft 'thump', she turned towards Sasuke.

"Out. Now." She said slowly, her voice low from anger, even though inside, she was laughing hysterically. She couldn't believe how she managed to keep her cool at that particular moment. Sasuke must have been brushing off on her.

Come to think of it, the (way too gorgeous for his own good) Uchiha bastard hadn't been an example of calm since they started… ahem, fervently discussing. He-who-has-no-evident-emotion-other-than-hatred had been… arguing her?

Arguing?

No, impossible. Uchiha Sasuke is way too proud to belittle himself enough to argue with her, let alone anyone for that matter. But, he did seem about to reply something. How strange.

"No, you go out first. I have to…" he hesitated to tell her. Oh, it wasn't anything important, it was just… something his ego wouldn't bear.

"What? You have to what?" She hurried him.

"Washmyclothesintheshower…" he mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I didn't understand a word you said"

"I… Have… To… Washmyclothesintheshower…" he mumbled again.

"Sasuke-kun, if you're not being cooperative, I can throw you out myself," she warned.

"Fine. I have to… Washmycl-…"

"Louder."

"Washmyclothesinthesh-"

"I said louder."

"I HAVE TO WASH MY CLOTHES IN THE FREAKING SHOWER, DAMNIT!"

"Alright, alright. You don't have to scream," she said in a calm voice. Oh, how she loved to tease him. That would have probably been a better way to get his attention than to flirt with him when they were Genin.

Still, it would have probably made him kill her sooner, too. Or kill her, period. But, the past is the past, and never ever will she stalk him again. To prove it, she reached out for a towel, wrapped it around herself and walked out of the shower.

"Erm, Sakura? Could you, er…"

"What? Really Sasuke-kun, I don't know what happened to you, but you gotta get a grip on your problem and exterminate it so you can be like you were five years ago. You're kind of scaring me with your hesitations," she shot him a worried look.

"Could you give me my clothes?"

"Oh, sure. The bloody ones on the bench?" Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Yes, the bloody ones on the bench. Are you PMSing or is just Annoy-The-Uchiha Day?" He asked, not conscious that this question would earn him a new date between is (currently blue and bruised) cheek and Sakura's fist.

After making sure he wouldn't drown in the shower, seeing how she knocked him out, she gave him his clothes and went to the bench where she had left her own clothes.

Sasuke washed away all of the blood that was on his clothes. Finally, the white was white again. Although it wouldn't have been too ugly to have a (blood) red shirt instead of a white one.

Even after seeing his skin become… er, skin-coloured, his hair still felt knotted and smelled… well, bad (he couldn't think of a simpler way to put it). Suddenly, a sly (and undoubtedly stupid) idea popped into his head.

He turned around slowly and looked around in search of what he needed. Then, he saw it. Sakura's strawberry scented shampoo bottle.

Oooooh, what a naughty, naughty boy.

Stealing a (not so) poor and defenceless girl's shampoo.

He poured some in his hands and started washing his hair. Luckily (for him), Sakura was to far from the shower and too caught up in dressing herself to notice the slight scent of strawberries floating from the shower.

He rinsed it with a delighted and sheepish grin, as if he was six years old again, and his mum was washing his hair. He turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around his lower half.

"You know, you'll have to dry those before putting them back on," Sakura said, startling him. She was sitting on the farthest bench, legs crossed, staring at him innocently.

"You-… You waited for me? You didn't leave?" He asked, confused.

"Well, obviously. I still had to wait until you were finished to go get my bottle of shampoo, anyway."

"Oh," he said, hoping she wouldn't notice there was much less shampoo in the bottle than when she left it in the shower.

"By the way, you probably know that there is a laundromat on the other side of the street. Why don't you bring your clothes there to dry them?" She told him smugly.

By the way Sasuke was staring at her – which was questioningly and rather priceless – she assumed that he had never seen it and was feeling quite like a fool at the moment.

"Okay, then I guess you didn't know."

"I can't go out on the street wearing only a towel. I'm not a girl; I don't like it when people see me naked." Oh, that was one he shouldn't have said.

Sakura got up from the bench and neared him threateningly. She did a fake smile as she came up to five centimetres away from him. She swung her hand forward.

Sasuke gave out a small grunt and his eyes went wide. Oh no, she was not doing what he thought – and felt – what she was doing. He turned his head slightly towards her, still looking like an electrified codfish.

Sakura, Haruno Sakura, was holding his balls tight in her fist. And she seemed to be deciding whether he deserved keeping them or not. Apparently being conscious of the fact that he would probably need them if he ever fell in love with her, she judged wiser not to tear them apart from his body.

"Now, Sasuke-kun," she said in a smug voice. "There are several things you seem to misunderstand about women. For example, we don't like it when people see us naked. And, unless you never noticed, you wear the widest cleavage I have ever seen, and you're a boy."

Sasuke chose to ignore the fact that she had just insulted his maturity and that her grip was tightening around his manhood. He winced, however, and started hoping she would let him go soon.

"There is something else you need to know. Never ask a girl if she's PMSing, it is personal and if she is, the reaction is way worse than what I did a few moments ago. Also, never tell her it is no big deal to see her naked, it will hurt her ego, about as much as it would hurt a boy's ego if she told him he had a small penis."

"Now, you're gonna follow me to the laundromat and you won't say a word until were done drying your clothes. Got it?"

_Boy_, had she become strong-minded.

Sasuke nodded slightly, shutted his eyes and prayed the torture was almost over. To his relief, she let go of his balls and took his hand in hers.

"Come on, now, we don't have all day, do we?" She hurried him, while pulling him towards the exit.

Sasuke could still feel her hands on his package and winced at the memory. Hopefully, after drying his clothes, she would tell him she has business to do and would leave him, letting him heal his bruised cheek and squashed balls.

He had _no_ idea how wrong he was.

_**A/N**__: Yay, second chapter done! I'll be gone for two weeks, starting July 15__th__, but I'll continue getting ideas while I'm gone. I'll make sure to write everything I got when I get back. Review, please!_

_Ja!_

_Queen of Pascalities_


	3. An AllPowerful Kunoichi

_**A/N: **__Whoa, I never thought I would make so much people laugh! I always thought of myself as being… boring…Anyway, thank you for all the reviews! By the way, if you are choking while reading, __**stop!**__**Please!**__ It's as simple as that. I don't want to receive a review telling me I just killed someone. Just stop reading, catch your breath before it takes a bus to Heaven, and then come back. I won't delete this story, don't worry! Every time I add a chapter, it goes back to 60 days of lifetime. It won't disappear!_

_Anyway, happy reading!_

How? How could this girl have so much power on him? She was just a _girl_! A weak and annoying _**girl**_! Uchihas don't get ruled over by girls! Except for his mother, but she was an Uchiha anyway.

No, really, this one was quite something! She would get him to walk around half-naked in a laundromat, go back to the thermal bath station to get her bottle of shampoo – which, in his opinion, smelled way too feminine for him to use, although he did use it (coughstupidcough) – come back to the laundromat, accompany her to a hotel, _pay_ for the room and sleep in the same bed as her.

Now, you are probably all wondering how she accomplished this incredible exploit. Well, it was quite simple. Here is how it happened.

"Damn you woman…" Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun, you don't want me to punish you again, do you?" she said smugly. "You know, I think we should both leave this village tomorrow, after a good night sleep. Don't you agree?"

"Hn."

"Oh, puh-lease, Sasuke-kun, do be cooperative. I think we should stop to that hotel. It looks nice."

"Hn."

"I think we both need it."

"I think you should stop thinking," he replied dryly.

_Bad idea._

Her hand shot up straight towards his throat. If he had been paying attention to her, he would have been able to dodge it. But guess what, he hadn't been paying attention to her. Well, not visually, anyway.

She had decided his balls had suffered enough for one day, so she went for his throat. Concentrating chakra in her arm and hand, she delightfully felt a few vertebrae crack under the pressure. Oh, not enough to kill him. But it did feel good to see him choke and gasp for air.

"_What __**exactly **__did you say?_"

Okay, maybe she had gone a little too far. Only a little, though.

She let go of his throat, making him fall to the ground into a puddle of hyperventilating Uchiha. The poor guy was red in the face, except for the big blue bruise on his cheek. He looked up at her, a murderous glare in his eyes, but it didn't look quite serious in the middle of his flushed and bruised (oh so handsome) face.

She got down on her knees, a slight smirk on her lips, and repeated her question.

"What exactly did you say?"

He hesitated a little. After all, he could be the pig-headed Uchiha he used to be – and receive yet another higly painful punch – or be in his right mind and say something else – that _wouldn't_ eventually get him killed.

After staring at her evil smirk for a while, he decided to use his right and rational mind – for once.

"Nothing."

"Yeah, thought so. Now, why don't we go to that hotel?"

"I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"Don't feel like it." Okay, maybe his stubborn-as-a-donkey Uchiha mind didn't quite want to admit defeat yet.

"Oh really?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, really," he said, raising his… well, whole self.

"What if I say we go anyway?"

"I say I don't want to go."

"Still, we're going." At that moment, their voices had raised a little.

"No, we're not!"

"Yes, we are!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

Are not!"

"Are too!"

"_Are not!_"

"_Are too!_"

"_**Are not!**_"

"_**Are too!**_"

It is truly amazing how people having a fight can be so heedless of all the by-passers shooting them glares, smirks, and all other kinds of faces, including the "Ha-happened-to-me-last-night-now-you're-in-for-it-she's-gonna-make-you-sleep-on-the-couch-if-you-don't-agree-with-her" smirk and the "You-go-girl-we're-all-behind-you-give-that-shmuck-a-piece-of-your-mind-like-I-did-to-my-husband-last-night-before-I-sent-him-sleep-on-the-couch" grin.

"_**ARE NOT!**_"

"_**ARE TOO!**_"

"_**ARE NOT!**_"

"_**ARE TOO, AND YOU BETTER NOT COMPLAIN UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO CASTRATE YOU LIKE I WAS ABOUT TO DO IN THE SHOWERS! BE GRATEFUL YOU STILL CAN HAVE CHILDREN, UCHIHA, BECAUSE IT WON'T BE THE CASE FOR TOO LONG IF YOU DON'T GET INTO THAT HOTEL AND PAY FOR A ROOM!**_"

…

Silence.

…

Awkward silence.

…

Awfully awkward silence.

…

The poor retired couple who had been walking by were staring at the two teenagers in shock. The man silently put his hands over his package, making a wincing face at the thought of being castrated. The woman silently put her hands over her mouth, thinking it was absolutely outrageous that these two had been in the same shower.

And that the girl didn't castrate her companion.

What a shame.

Sasuke was still sending the murderous look at Sakura. No, he was definitely not going to obey to this girl and comply with her demands. Uh uh, **no way**. He was a manly, masculine, proud man, an Uchiha nonetheless, and he was **not** scared of a simple pink haired woman.

This eventually ended up with a very pissed Sasuke being dragged into the hotel by a very calm, annoying and evilly grinning Sakura.

While he was sitting on the bed, she was walking around, brushing her teeth and her hair at the same time, being watched intently by a very sulking and childish-looking Uchiha.

Being finished with brushing all she had to brush, Sakura approached the bed, finally noticing Sasuke staring at her. She found him highly cute, but she knew that telling him would only piss him more.

Which is why she told him.

"What? You know Sasuke-kun, you're very cute like that. You'd be even cuter if you were blushing" she said, slightly giggling.

Which caused him to blush.

"Aaaaaww, now the picture's complete. I'm sure your mum would have said the same thing."

"Don't you dare talk about my mum," he said angrily. "You don't know anything about her, you don't know what she used to say or do. You have no right to say that."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Geez, calm down, I was just teasing you."

He got under the covers, turning his back towards her stubbornly. She stared at him for a while, then pulled the covers up and slid into bed, her back facing him to.

"Good night, Sasuke-kun," she said harshly before closing her eyes.

"Hn."

Somehow, that (highly irritating) answer sounded like it was filled with sorrow. It caused Sakura to open her eye again. Why did she hear sorrow in those two letters? _How _could she hear sorrow in those two letters? It was absurd. Still, her mind started producing an awful lot of questions about why he would be sorrowful.

Then, it hit her.

"You miss her, don't you?" She asked softly.

"Who?" Came his deep voice.

"Your mom."

"…"

"You wish she were still alive." She smiled slightly, as if she were wishing the same thing.

"…"

"Don't you?"

"Yeah." His voice broke.

Sakura stayed silent, forcing herself not to push him towards telling her more. She could practically feel his tears on her cheeks.

"She… was the most… sweet, caring woman I have ever met, and still, she was holding an iron-firm grip on my father's behaviour. Somehow…" he hesitated. "Somehow, you remind me of her. And I know that if I had told you when we were Genin, you would have squealed and dashed straight to that blond girl to tell her," he said, chuckling. "But I felt so bad for not telling you, because somewhere, I knew you deserved to know."

"And I have no fucking idea why I'm telling you now, or why I'm even talking to you. God, I'm even _crying_!" He chuckled again, and then sniffed.

"Sasuke-kun," she said, turning around to face his back. "There is nothing wrong with crying. Except when it's an every day habit like me, but… You know, if you feel like crying, just do it. You've been holding your emotions deep inside of you for eight years. It is perfectly normal for them to flow out when there are too much of them."

"What are you, a psychologist?" He asked, sniffing again.

"No, but Tsunade-shishou told me I could have been a great one if I hadn't become a medic. And, Sasuke-kun?"

"Yeah?"

She slid close to him and snaked a hand on his side to put it on his arm. She snuggled into his back, feeling him tense a little.

"I won't tell Naruto."

Closing his eyes, he sighed and smiled. She could feel he was relaxing. Her smile went wider and she tightened her hold on his arm, just enough to remind him she was there.

"Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Her eyes shot open at the two words he just said. The last time she had heard them, he was leaving Konoha to go join Orochimaru. She didn't know what he meant that time, but at this moment, in this bed, in this room of this hotel, in this village two week away from Konoha (she winced internally when she remembered that oh so frustrating fact), she knew exactly why he thanked her.

She closed her eyes again, smiling, as slumber finally took hold on her and drove her into a peaceful sleep, filled with cherry trees, white bunnies and pink and black haired chibi-Sasukes running around and laughing. The image also contained two tall shinobi, a pink-haired one, holding a raven-haired one's hand, both smiling.

Somehow, when Sakura woke up, she felt a sudden, unexplainable, pregnant woman-like craving for cheesecake.

_**A/N: **__Phew! Wow, that took me two hours straight! I just got back from watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was sooooooo cool! Well, I'm happy I could update before leaving for my summer camp, but you'll have to wait two weeks before I start the fourth chapter._

_Yes, I know Sakura has been a little bit bitchy, but it was only to lead the story towards a little bit of fluff, if you can call it that. And __**yes**__, I know Tsunade never told her she could be a great psychologist, but I had to find a way to make her understand what people feel._

_By the way, furryhatlover2543, I know I said I would make Sasuke bad talk Sakura's clothes, but I didn't know where to fit it in. Sorry. I'll try in the upcoming chapters (Sasuke will have REVENGE! MUAHAHAHAHAAA! Ahem, sorry)._

_Review? Pwetty pwetty pwease?_

_Ja!_

_Queen of Pascalities_


	4. Sasuke's weird behaviour

_**A/N:**__ Okay, fourth chapter! You know, you people who actually read this, you can send me ideas in your reviews, I'm always open to inspiration (actually I'm more like lacking and in need of it). If you have any good ideas for the upcoming chapters, just tell me and I'll see if I can fit them in. Of course, there will be some that I won't be able to put in my story, but still, I'll do anything possible._

_It has to be in the line of the story, though. If you tell me "Kiba could try to steal Hinata from Naruto to try to convince himself he's not in love with Kankuro", I'm sorry, but I won't put that. There's absolutely no link with the story._

_Anyway, here's the (hopefully) long awaited fourth chapter!_

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_Somehow, when Sakura woke up, se felt a sudden, unexplainable, pregnant woman-like craving for cheesecake._

_----------------------_

Just at that moment, she realized in what wonderful position she was. Note the sarcasm.

She was currently on her back, sprawled over by a very sleepy Uchiha, his face in the crook of her neck, his arms on each side of her. One of her legs was folded against his side, and the hand that was holding his arm the previous evening was, well… still holding his arm. Except now that he was on his belly, her arm was kind of… ahem, _across_his back. As in hugging him.

She hurriedly removed it, and unfolded her (treacherous) leg. She tried to move him away from herself, but when she started pushing him, he grunted and nuzzled more in her neck.

Oh.

My.

_**God**_.

Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!

Shit!

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

"_Sasuke-kun is lying over me, sleeping, and just snuggled in my neck. And he won't remember a thing when he wakes up. And he won't believe me that I woke up like that and I didn't pull him over me. He'll say I'm annoying and will hate me for the rest of my life. And he'll never come back to the village again. This can't get any worse!_" She thought to herself, wincing inwardly.

Wait…

_**Wrong!**_

It _can_ and it _**did**_ get worse.

Uchiha Sasuke, as hard to believe as it may be, was currently… Oooh, just the thought of it was scary and totally… weird! That could have never happened. Not to him! Especially not because of her!

Because it is _Uchiha Sasuke_ we are talking about here. And _Haruno Sakura_. Mr-I-have-no-emotions-whatsoever-and-I'm-proud-of-it-because-it-makes-me-angsty-therefore-cooler-than-you and Ms-I-cry-on-a-daily-basis-and-I'm-in-love-with-a-guy-who-thinks-being-angsty-is-cool. It just _can't_ work!

Uchiha Sasuke was having a really, _really_ noticeable erection due to his position over the pink-haired kunoichi who was struggling, therefore squirming, to get him off of her.

Finally gathering her guts and chakra, she violently pushed him off the bed, on the hard, cold wooden floor, exactly in the spot where there was a big lacking of carpet. A loud thud resulted from his fall, followed shortly by a grunt, a small but deep yelp of pain and a quite angry-sounding "What the fuck?" before she saw him rise from the ground and plop back on the bed with a deep sigh.

He then turned his head towards her and opened one of his dark, tired eyes. He looked at her with a mix of anger, annoyance and surprise. Before she could even begin to think of maybe trying to start understanding what the stare meant, Sasuke opened his mouth and spoke slowly in a low voice:

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Sakura's eyes went wide. No! He couldn't! He couldn't have forgotten! Not after he cried, revealed some important stuff about his past, smiled, let Sakura hug him the whole night, actually _talked_ and had an erection! She felt like punching him again, but after remembering that too many hit would be hard to heal and would scar his face forever, she decided otherwise.

Just when she was about to remind him of the nature of her presence, he finally seemed to have caught up with the situation and opened his mouth again.

"Oh, right, I acted like a completely weak fool and cried like a wimp in front of you. Then you comforted me and we fell asleep like that. Now, here's my real question; why did you throw me off the bed?"

"I don't even have to say it, the answer's on you," she said matter-of-factly, still with a hint of fright in her tone.

"What? What are you talking ab-…" He suddenly stopped, then lowered his gaze towards his pants. His undeniably tight pants. "You've got to be kidding me," he said, voicing a little bit of panic.

"I'm afraid there's nothing to be kidding with, seeing that," Sakura said, shyly pointing at the bulge in his trousers. Then, apparently out of her mind, or simply still too sleepy to refrain herself, she poked the thing as if it were perfectly normal for a girl to poke a guy's erection when all he wanted to do was to make it disappear.

You see, when you touch in any way a guy's penis, it is gonna make him have an erection, except when you hurt it. But if he already has and erection, then the "Grazing of the Manhood" technique is meant for the guy to, most likely, ejaculate, or, in the bluntest of terms, cum. Even when it's not on purpose.

Sasuke grunted a low "fuck," and pushed her violently out of his way. He climbed off the bed and hurried towards the bathroom. Sakura heard the ripping of clothes first, then someone falling, then Sasuke's voice producing muffled moaning and grunting sounds, then a low groan and the sound of something falling in the toilet.

Even with the fact that see was still a virgin (Tsunade wouldn't have let any male get too close to her), Sakura had quite an idea of what had just happened behind the bathroom door. Not that the idea of Sasuke jacking off repulsed her, au contraire, but she would have preferred him to do it inside of her, after a long session of love-making (not sex, the word sounds too vulgar) and after telling her he was madly in love with her and wanted to marry her.

When Sasuke finally got out of the bathroom, he saw Sakura sitting on the bed, watching outside the window intently, as if she didn't want to look at him. He approached her and said:

"Does it bother you that much that I get and erection because of you?"

"No, not at all. Actually, it pleases me more than you think, but that's not exactly how, when and where I wanted it to happen. Nor to end." She finished with a sly smirk.

He shot her a glare, well aware of what she was thinking about. He instantly regretted what he told her the night before. She, in no way, deserved to know that she reminded him of his mother. Although she did, he shouldn't have admitted it out loud.

"Oh, don't you glare at me, Sasuke-kun. You do know that I've been in love with you for a long time already and that I've always wanted to be the mother of your children. Don't hate me for something that I can't control."

"You're right, I shouldn't hate you because of your mouth," he said, stopping the glare and installing a smirk on his (way too handsome for his own good) features.

"What? What are you talking about? I said something that I couldn't control!" Her smirk left her face, replaced by a misunderstanding and questioning look.

"Yes, that's what I'm saying. You can't control your mouth." His smirk grew into an evil grin, as he realized that he was about to win the battle. "Oh look, now it's dangling open! You look like a fish like that, did you know? You'd better close it, before you gob some bugs. Oh, don't give me that look." He said, seeing her outraged face. "Come on, we'd better leave before they kick us out. We've got a long way to go."

He gripped her wrist and pulled her towards the door and out the room. She was still gob smacked, and didn't do anything to stop him. Just the fact of having nothing to say was making her speechless. Because, as you all know, Sakura is never speechless in an argument.

Never.

Ever.

As she was dragged outside the hotel and down the street, her eyes found their way to her wrist, which Sasuke's hand was clamped on. It was not the first time Sasuke had taken hold of her arm, nonetheless touched her, but it was the first time he did it without having to save her (again) from some kind of enemy. Actually, he looked kind of serene.

"Why is he like that?" Sakura asked herself. "Since when did he initiate touch, grin, and speak full sentences? This is not the Sasuke I know, and I'm not sure I like it."

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All through the day, Sasuke's behaviour became weirder by the minute. At first, it was only a bit surprising when he held her hand for a whole hour before letting go of it to go to the bathroom. Then, it became curious when he stared enthusiastically at everything around him when they went through a market.

But what really freaked her out was when he made puppy eyes because he was hungry and wanted tomatoes. Oh, and when she finally accepted to buy some, he made a big grin and looked as if he were close to hugging her. **Hugging her**! Uchiha Sasuke never hugs anyone, especially not Haruno Sakura!

When they finally left the village, Sasuke looked as peaceful as Tsunade when she gets her precious sake. He had a slight goofy grin on his face and some kind of unknown sparkle in his eyes. Sakura stared at him for a few minutes, a suspicious, questioning and (a little bit) worried look plastered on her features. She then closed her eyes and sighed.

"Geez, Sasuke-kun, stop being so… "Un-Sasuke-kun-like"! You're even bouncier than me!" She said, exasperated. "It scares me."

Sasuke looked at her innocently, his eyes as big and questioning as a kid's. He didn't seem to understand until he realized that he had taken hold of her hand again. He let go of it, letting it plop lifelessly down at her side.

"Sorry." He said, making a puppy eyed-face, looking on the verge of tears.

"What exactly is wrong with you? You're acting like some six-year-old child with pregnant woman-like mood swings! In the last three hours, you managed to look as if you were about to cry more than me the day after you left!"

Oh great. Now, the guy looked pitifully sorry. You know when you're mad at something and it's so cute you can't stay mad at it for long? He made exactly that face.

"The truth is, I have no idea why I'm being so… cheerful. I wish I did, though." He said, suddenly becoming serious.

"Well, I could help you on that one." Sakura said, smiling.

"Oh, **no**! You are not playing psychologist again!" He yelled, backing away from her slowly. "You know what it did to me last night! I _cried_, damnit! Uchihas don't cry! _I_ don't cry!"

"Whoa, whoa, relax! I'm not gonna make you cry again. I'm just gonna try and find out what makes you be so… Naruto-ish."

"I'm not being like Naruto!"

"Yes you are, and if you wanna be normal again, you better shut up and listen to what I say!"

Yet again, Sakura managed to make him obey her orders. Hopefully, this little psychologist session would be soon over.

And yet again, our dear Sasuke had **no** idea how wrong he was.

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_**A/N:**__ Yay, finished! You have no idea how long this took me! I swear, I had what they call the "blank page" syndrome! Oh well, anyway, I'm glad I'm back. At camp, even though it was a music camp, I probably learned everything there is to know about humans' reproductive system, so it's going to help me with my lemons. _

_Ok, so it wasn't the best revenge Sasuke ever had, but hey! He did kill his brother! And Kisame aka Shark-Man!_

_Next chapter, Sasuke-kun receives the weirdest but most intelligent explanation about his mood swings there has ever been in Naruto (has there been any in Naruto? Hm, I wonder…)._

_**Important!**__ I'm currently writing a new fanfic, SasuSaku of course, Rated T, about every one going to band camp. AU, OOC, lots of fluff and (hopefully) humor. If you have any ideas of what I could put in it, speak (or rather write) up! I hope you'll read (and like) it._

_Arigato!_

_Ja!_

_Queen of Pascalities _


	5. Sakura's explanation

_**A/N :**__ Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey, hello! Sorry I didn't update as fast as usual. I was in Cape Cod for a week and I didn't have my computer so there was no way I could write. Anyway, here's the fifth chapter (I'm currently leaping for joy in my computer seat) in which Sasuke gets his (not so) super great explanation! Why is he so emotional? Why does he cry? Why does he grin, and not just smirk? Why does he remind Sakura of a pregnant woman? Or worse, __**Naruto**__? You will all understand what (in my opinion) would be behind this behaviour if it did happen. _

_Enjoy!_

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"Now, Sasuke-kun. When did you start acting like that?" Sakura asked, looking at him with a determined stare.

"I don't know… Two days ago? Maybe just one." He said, looking quite confused and slightly annoyed.

"Hum… Did you behave like that before meeting me?"

"No, not really."

"Okay, then it's been one day. What happened to you before meeting me?"

"Er… I killed Itachi?"

"Oh, right. Then it could be… Yes, that would explain…" She said, looking away from him, whispering to herself. Then, her head shot back up to face him. "Have you ever felt like that before, in your whole life?"

"Er, yes, I think so. Before my clan died, I think." He answered, not quite understanding her behaviour.

"Uh huh… That makes sense." And she started whispering again.

She then went completely silent. Not a single word. She seemed to be absorbed in her thoughts. Seeing that she didn't give anymore attention to him ,Sasuke turned his head to look forward at the road before them. He sunk into his own thoughts too, but his weren't about his mental health.

Sasuke was thinking about his mum. It was true he missed her. She was probably the only person in his family that he never loathed. He did have some dreams about her, and they had nothing related to the nightmares he had about the massacre. They were happy dreams, where he could see her smiling, teasing his father before turning to him and saying "You are my favourite son, Sasuke-kun. Don't ever doubt that."

Sometimes, the speech was different. Once, she did say "Don't try to be like your brother or father. Your father was lucky to have an arranged marriage because the man would have married anyone, just like Itachi." At that part, her face had become softer. "Someday, Sasuke, you'll fall in love and that girl will be the luckiest one in the world."

He had never really thought about that one before, but now that he had hormones (and rather raging ones, at that, as he discovered this same morning), his conscience started to take consideration of the specimens of the opposite sex around him.

Or rather, the only girl who would bear to be around him.

The poor Uchiha prodigy was quite confused about his, erm… feelings _concerning_ Sakura.

Not towards.

Concerning.

**Only**concerning.

The girl was confusing him that was annoying him to no end. He could not quite put his finger on what was so special about her, but he knew there was something. An ordinary girl could never make him feel so angry, sad, annoyed and happy at the same time.

Why did she have so much power on him? When they were twelve, the simple fact that he _breathed_ made her fix him in adoration, waiting to have the honour of hearing nothing but a little sample of his voice mixed with his tongue pronounce a word that she would worship for it was said in front of _her_, for _her_ ears to receive.

Now, she even _dared __**interrupt**_ him! She no longer stared at him like the love-sick twelve-year-old soon-to-be teenager she had been in their Genin years. She didn't mind hurting him when she felt like it, she yelled at him, hell, she even **insulted** him!

Somehow, at the same time of… appreciating, that's it, appreciating Sakura's new behaviour, he still regretted the old one, the one that was all about him. Not that he actually _liked_ the fact that she glomped him every time she had the opportunity, but he still liked the attention. After all, his father had ignored him from (approximately) the day after he was born (he still had to be happy for his wife and agree to the name she proposed) to the day he was killed.

Anyhow, he couldn't make Sakura change her behaviour, so he would just have to cope with it and pray for it to get better with the years.

"Were you a happy child?"

His train of thoughts was rudely (yet again) interrupted by Sakura's question.

"Huh?"

Oh, **wow**, _bra_-_vo_! That was a very clever and highly articulated answer, graciously offered by Uchiha Sasuke, master in the art of non-talking. Sakura shot him a glare and repeated her question.

"Were you a happy child?"

"What do you mean was I a happy child? Does it look like I was one?"

"Answer my question." She raised her arm, her hand balled in a tight and mean looking fist.

"Er… Most of the time," he said, unsure of what to say. "I loved my mum, and my brother was nice to me, but my dad made me feel weak and useless, so most of the time, when I was with anyone else but my father, I was somewhat happy."

"And, you became angsty and emo after your parents' death, right?"

"I was not angsty and emo! I was an avenger! A mighty, powerful avenger!" he screamed, outraged.

"Riiiiiiiiiight, that's why you always got beaten up every time you saw Itachi. But, why exactly did you want to avenge your parents that much? Why did you hate him so bad? There must have been something. I mean, if my parents had been killed, sure I would have wanted to avenge them, but I wouldn't have been that mad at the guy. Why did you loathe him like that?"

"He-…" Sasuke sighed. "He told me to." He lowered his eyes and stared intently at the ground.

"What?" Sakura said, her eyes widening.

"He told me to hate him. Hate him as much as I could, so that when we met again, I would fight him with the intent of killing him. He told me to hate him so I could get stronger. He also told me to live a miserable and lonely life, because he said attachments could get in the way." His voice was full of remorse and broke towards the end of his sentence.

"I see… Well, Sasuke-kun, I have found the answer to our question," she said joyfully. "I know why you're acting like Naruto."

"Really?" He asked while his head shot up for his eyes to meet hers.

"Mm hmm!" She replied, while nodding vigorously.

"Oh incredibly talented psychologist, do tell my humble person your knowledge," he said sceptically.

"Oh, very well. You are acting all Narutoish because of your brother. Or rather, because of your current lack of a brother. You said you were somewhat happy when you were a child. Then your parents died. First reason of you being sad and closed up. But you also discovered it was your brother, whom you said had always been nice to you, who killed them. So you were even sadder, and you were angry at him. He told you to hate him. So you did."

"He told you to live a miserable and lonely life. So you became unfriendly, harsh and quiet. You didn't let yourself get close to anybody and you pushed away every one who tried to be friends with you. Then, you got your curse mark, and you understood that it made you stronger and much more powerful than you ever were. Seeing there an opportunity to have revenge on Itachi, you went for the one who gave it to you, Orochimaru."

"You didn't want anyone to stop you from doing it, so you pushed away everyone that had gotten close to you. In other words, Naruto, Kakashi and me. It made you even angrier and lonelier. Even if you were getting stronger, I know you didn't quite like being with Orochimaru. That made you sadder than ever and you were angry at yourself for being sad."

"You started believing that feelings were gonna slow you down, so you buried deep down inside yourself and became even more stoic. It looked as though Orochimaru didn't bother you any more. Then you killed him and freed his whole north base for good measure. You made two of his guinea pigs and one of his employees members of your team."

"Your lack of emotions made you worthy of being their chief and have control on them. There again, that was a good point for you _not_ to have any feelings. When you finally killed your brother, they… Er, wait, they died or they left?" She asked him.

"Died. Before I killed him." He answered calmly.

"Right, they died. So, after you killed your brother, your… conscience, let's call it that, sensed that it had happened and realized that you didn't need to hate Itachi anymore. So it told your mind "Okay, dude, anger target is gone, we can make big Sasuke here feel something else!" and your mind let every single emotion flow out. Unfortunately for your system, you had buried so many emotions since your parents died, that the flow kinda blocked."

"First came peace. You had been so mad at your brother recently that it was the first that was pushed out. Then came tiredness, since you had used every last bit of your strength to kill him. At that part, you met with me. Out came surprise, annoyance and stubbornness. We went to that hotel, and there you've been childish, wistful, sorrowful, sad and relieved."

"Next morning, you were downright happy. Joyful, playful, innocent, very Narutoish. And now, here we are. The emotions you had for the past eight years are gonna continue flowing out of you until you have nothing left. Then you will be able to have somewhat normal feelings and live pretty much like Naruto and me."

"Now the real question is, do you wanna live like that? Because believe me, if you don't want to, you're in deep shit." Sasuke turned his head towards her, his eyes as wide as ramen bowls, upon hearing what she had just said.

"I am _not_ in deep shit!" he whined childishly, adding a little pout on his (oh so totally handsome) features.

"Oh, puh-lease, Sasuke-kun! Don't act like that. It's not that bad," Sakura said, reprimanding him.

His pout transformed into a wide grin and he chuckled a little. It was Sakura's turn to go wide-eyed. Had he just-…? No, he couldn't have-… But still, she was sure she heard it.

"Sasuke-kun, have just been, erm… laughing?" She asked carefully.

"Of curse I have, since what you said is so ridiculously funny! Of course I wanna live like you and Naruto! I don't want my life to be empty like it used to be!" He said, chuckling a bit more.

He took both of her hands, making her face him, and squeezed a little just to prove he was serious. He grinned again, released one hand and started walking again. Sakura looked at him incredulously, still having a question rotating in her head.

"Sasuke-kun?" She said hesitantly.

"Hmm? What is it?" He answered.

"Are you really gonna stay in Konoha? You're not gonna leave again, will you?"

"I don't plan to, no. Except for missions, if they let me. Or if they ban me from the village."

"If they ban you, I'll go too!" She said in a determined and somewhat revolted tone.

Sasuke stared at her, surprised. She would? Really? Why would she do such a thing? She had a life in that village! No one wanted to kill her for treachery! She wouldn't have a thing to worry about when she gets to the village! He, on the contrary, had everything to worry about, from his clothes to his permitted lifespan! And there, she offered- pardon, affirmed that she would leave with him if he was banished!

"Thank you," he said in a calm tone.

"You know, you really have to find something else to tell me when I do something nice for you. I'm kinda tired of hearing you say "thank you". Couldn't you say "That would be great" or "That was really nice of you"?" She replied teasingly.

"Erm, no."

"Why?"

"Don't feel like it."

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke started laughing. She was hilarious when mad! Sakura stared at him, astonished at the fact that he was laughing, smiled and then started laughing too. When she directed her gaze upon the road they were following, she was surprised to see the had reached another village.

_**Boy**_, would that night be _weird_!

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_**A/N: **__Boy, was that long to write! I believe it is my longest chapter ever. Well, I'm glad of how it turned out. I have to admit, at some points, I was inventing stuff as I wrote it down._

_Next chapter, we begin a series of talks about both of them, which they had while walking from village to village or just before going to bed._

_I'll try to update as fast as possible, but I'm still having the "blank page syndrome" and Plot Bunnies are running way too fast for me to catch them. Oh well, I'll try!_

_Ja!_

_Queen of Pascalities_


	6. The Annoying and the Bastard

_**A/N:**__ It's a relief to know that when I'm bored and I have nothing to do, I can always count on my story to keep me occupied. Honestly, this has kept me in front of my computer for something like 14 hours now! _

_I'm also quite ashamed to admit it, but what really made my mind work was the song "The Call" by the Backstreet Boys. It is true and it's a very lame song, but somehow, it really helps._

_Anyway!_

_Here is chapter six, in which Sasuke ad Sakura start to learn about each other more. There will be about two conversations in each chapter, and if you have any ideas of what kind of things they could talk about, tell me. _

_Enjoy!_

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"Why do I have to pay for the room?"

"Because you're the man here!"

"So?"

"It would make you a gentleman if you did!"

"Maybe I don't wanna be a gentleman!"

"Well, you don't have a choice!"

"And why is that?"

"I'm broke and you happen to have all you companions' money, plus Itachi and Kisame's!"

"Kisame?"

"His partner."

"Oh. Shark-Man."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Uh huh."

It is truly amazing how two seventeen-year-olds of the opposite sex fighting can look like an old married couple. Yelling stuff at each other over stupid things in the middle of a public place. A normal teenager couple would rather make out in the middle of a public place. But are Sasuke and Sakura a normal teenager couple? Nope!

Now you're gonna say "They're not even a couple!"

…

Details, details!

"Come on, go and pay already! I'm tired and I have a headache."

"Alright, alright! Geez…"

Sasuke handed the money to the lady behind the counter and took the key. He turned around to look at Sakura and, upon seeing her highly annoyed face, waved the key in front of her eyes.

"Here, I have the damned key, now get that scowl off your face and come with me." He took her hand and guided her to the room they (ahem, he) had just rented.

Sakura opened her bag to take out her pyjamas while Sasuke dashed straight for the bathroom. He was joyfully and delightfully relieving himself (he was literally hearing bells of glory) until her heard a high-pitched not-so girly scream. He ran out of the bathroom (after pulling his pants up, of course!) and stared, his eyes wide, at Sakura holding her pyjamas in one of her hands.

Soaked in ink.

"My pyjamas! My ink!" she screamed, her eyes welling up. She stuffed the clothes back in her bag and slapped herself.

"Oh come on! Don't cry now! Stupid… Stupid… Stupid!" She slapped her cheeks every time the word "Stupid" came out of her mouth.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" she was about to hit her own face once more when a hand took hold of her wrist.

"Stop doing that. It's annoying," Sasuke said calmly.

"Sasuke-kun? Are you… you?" She asked, dumbfounded.

"What?"

"I mean, you're acting like your normal self."

"Oh." He looked away for a minute, then brought his eyes back at her.

"What's the matter?" He asked, yet again calmly.

"My ink bottle broke and it spilled on everything I had in my bag. Especially my clothes," she answered, pouting.

"So?"

"_So_? So that means I don't have anything to wear, no ninja clothes, no normal clothes, no pyjamas, no _nothing_! I can't sleep in the clothes I wore today, it'd be disgusting! If only I had-…" her eyes widened, then her face twisted into an evil grin.

"Sasuke-kuuuuun?" She started slyly.

"Sakura, don't pull that face on me," he said, beginning to panic. "I don't like it. Sakura, stop!"

"Oh, but Sasuke-kun, I only wanted to ask you to lend me some clothes," she said in a mix of innocence and teasing.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I said no."

"Pleeeeeaaaaaase?"

"No!"

"Hm, you're mean!" She pouted like a spoiled child.

"Shut up."

"HEY!"

"Sorry."

"You better be."

"HEY!"

"Sorry."

They both sighed. Sakura looked up at him again.

"Erm, Sasuke-kun? Could you let go of my wrist, please?"

"Oh! Yeah, sure, sorry." He freed her wrist and walked towards the bed. He sat on it and picked up his bag. Sakura approached him hesitantly.

"Sasuke-kun? Would you, please, lend me some clothes so I can sleep in them?" She asked, making a huge effort to ask politely.

He shot her a mild glare. She cast her eyes to the floor, turned around and walked away. "_**Stupid Sasuke, not even willing to share. That'd be the least he could do-…**_"

**POF.**

A bunch of clothes landed on the back of her head and fell on the floor. She turned around, a vein popping in her head, ready to yell the living daylights out of the young Uchiha who was staring at her innocently. He pointed at the pile of clothes at her feet.

"Wear that," he said matter-of-factly.

She stared at the dark blue clothes for a good five minutes, deadpanned. Then she bent down and picked them up. She walked to the bathroom, entered the room and closed the door, still staring at the fabric between her fingers, as if dumbstruck.

A few minutes later, she walked out hesitantly, unsure of what to think. She was wearing a dark blue short-sleeved turtle-neck that was way too big for her, with the black shorts she wore under her skirt. She glanced at Sasuke, wondering what he thought about it. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open.

"Sasuke-kun? Whose clothes are these?" She asked carefully.

"My clan's," he answered, still dumbfounded.

"Yeah, I already guessed that part," She replied sceptically. "Whose is you clan are these?"

"Oh! Erm… Well, I don't know, but I was supposed to inherit them, so I guess they're mine."

"Uh huh…" Sakura shrugged. "Oh well, good night."

She climbed on the bed and got under the covers. He followed her, feeling sleepy, and closed his eyes peacefully, his back towards hers. Hopefully she wouldn't-…

"Sasuke-kun?"

Ask anything else.

"Hmm?" he groaned.

"Why does you clan always wear navy or black clothes? Don't they wear anything else?" She asked.

"My clan was in the police service. Like ninjas, they couldn't be detected, so they only wore dark clothes to stay unnoticeable," he answered, feeling like a school teacher explaining a very simple matter to a child.

"But that's not healthy! And certainly not pretty either," she exclaimed, almost outraged.

"Wearing bright colours is what is not healthy." She turned around, sending his back a dark glare, feeling he was making an allusion to her bright red zip up shirt. "And for a ninja, the point of wearing clothes is not to be pretty, but to not be naked."

"Alright, alright, but you always wear dark blue and black stuff. After that, you wonder why you're all gloomy and angsty," she scolded. "It is proven fact that what we wear affects our mood."

"Oh, so that's why you're so loud, obnoxious and easy to spot!" He exclaimed, turning around.

"No, that's Naruto."

"Fine, then you're bright and annoying. Does that sound like you? Wait a second, hmm, YES! IT DOES!"

"No, it doesn't!" Something inside him snapped.

"Want me to prove it? Red is a very bright colour, and it's highly annoying. Why do you think it's the colour that angers bulls? About you, you are bright, no doubt about that, you're very intelligent, but you're so annoying that you don't even _seem_ to have a brain! And by the way, what's the point in wearing a skirt if it doesn't even cover your legs? You have shorts under it, fine, but don't you think it'd be way more efficient if you only wore them?"

Oh, he was **mad**! Well, on the outside, he was. On the inside, he was screaming at himself to stop talking, because Sakura was crying again and she looked **hurt**. She seemed to be shrinking under his gaze that had turned to Sharingan, hot tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Why are you saying that?" She asked, her voice erased and broken.

"Because you never understand when somebody tells you! You're so stuck up in your own little world that you don't bother with other people's feelings! They could be trying to tell you they're annoyed to hell, you would still run around them asking stupid questions and calling them with stupid, useless affectionate names! And when somebody finally succeeds in telling you, you whine, you bawl and you make us all regret that we told you!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" She yelled, pushing him off the bed. She got on her feet and started to slap and punch him, not even thinking of using her chakra.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY I'M SO DAMN ANNOYING BUT IT'S JUST THE WAY I AM! JUST LIKE YOU ARE A BASTARD! A GODDAMN BASTARD!" She hit him harder, pushing him towards the door.

"_**Ah, bravo, Sasuke, very clever!**_" Sasuke thought to himself through the shower of hits he was receiving. "_**Now she's mad at you! You couldn't stop, now way! Never! You had to go all the way and make her hate you! Well, what are you waiting for? Apologize! Do something!**_"

Sasuke managed to grasp Sakura's wrists and pull her to his chest. He encircled his arms around her, trying to stop her from hitting him. She still pounded her fists on his chest for a while, calling him a bastard, until she calmed down and let herself be hugged. She cried into his chest, forgetting why she was mad at him and soaking his shirt.

He pulled her towards the bed and under the covers, still squeezing her to his chest. He softly rubbed her back, "sh"-ing her to sleep. She cried again for a few minutes, then the sound of her sobs lowered and her breaths evened. Sasuke watched her fall asleep, snuggling in his chest.

Why? Why did he have to insult her that way? They had built some kind of friendship over the two days they spent together and he had managed to ruin it all in two minutes. To tell the truth, those had been the two happiest days of his life since his family's death. A single tear fell from his right eye and crashed on the bridge of his nose.

He closed his eyes and let sleep take him over. In the morning, he would apologize. Yeah, he would definitely apologize.

She deserved it.

----------------------

When Sakura woke up, she was in bed, alone and freezing. She sat up, scanning the room with her eyes. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. She got on her feet and walked to where she had left her skirt. She put it on and sat back on the bed, still wearing Sasuke's shirt.

The door of the room opened, letting the Uchiha in. He stared at Sakura for a moment before walking towards her. She stood up, her eyes locked to him. He stopped three feet from her and fixed her.

"Sakura, I'm-"

SLAP.

His face flew to the right, his left cheek hurting like hell. Sakura lowered her arm and stared intently at the mark her hand had left on his face. He turned his head back towards her, his eyes wide.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" She yelled.

"What!?"

"Where have you been? Why did you leave? I thought you were gone!"

"I-… You-…" He stuttered, dumbstruck, his eyes as wide as the bowls he was holding. "Why would I be gone?"

"I don't know, because you had enough of me, because you changed your mind and decided not to go back to Konoha! The point is you were NOT in this room!"

"I went to get breakfast!" He said innocently, showing the two bowls he had in his hands.

"Oh… Thank you… That's… very sweet of you," she said, calming down. He handed her one of the bowls, which she took, and sat on the bed. He started eating his food, watching her from the corner of his eye.

"Erm, Sakura? Do… Do you remember… what happened last night?" He asked carefully, focussing his eyes on his food.

Sakura's head shot up. She looked at him questioningly. Last night. Yes, something happened last night. The ink, the clothes, the questions.

The fight.

Her eyes widened. They had fought last night, she remembered now. A horrible fight. She couldn't remember what had been said, though. She remembered being scared, and she remembered crying. She had cried again. She lowered her eyes, feeling ashamed.

"I'm sorry."

----------------------

_**A/N: **__Crappy cliffhanger! Who's apologizing, Sasuke or Sakura? Keep reading and you'll know! That is my way of hiding the fact that I desperately want you all to keep reading… Anyway, hope you enjoyed. I know I did._

_Review, please._

_Don't forget to check out my two new stories, _Band Camp_ and _France

_Ja!_

_Queen of Pascalities _


	7. Bad Hair Day

_**A/N: **__An important matter has occurred to me. I just turned fifteen and I still don't understand guys much… And now, I'm writing a story in which I make a girl explain existential matters to an angsty lad… I am truly weird!_

_Oh well, enjoy!_

----------------------

"_I'm sorry"_

----------------------

Sakura's head shot up. Did Sasuke just apologize? Why did he do it? He had nothing to be sorry about. In her opinion, anyway. Still, as she looked at it, his face seemed to transform more and more into a mask of guilt and remorse.

"I'm sorry I made you cry. I-… I always make you cry, no matter what I do. I hate it!" He said, looking at the ground like a shy little kid.

"No, _I'm _the one who's sorry! I'm just a big cry-baby, I cry for anything and everything! It never stops! I'm a real fountain!" She exclaimed.

"I never brought anyone happiness! I don't deserve anyone's sympathy! I-… I don't… I don't deserve yours," he said pitifully.

"I'm way too sensible, I shouldn't even be _allowed _to be a shinobi!"

"Don't say that, nobody can be "too sensible"! Look at me! I don't even know how emotions work!"

Sakura grasped Sasuke's head in her hands and turned it towards her. She locked her eyes to his. He could tell she was about to cry again. Her eyes were all puffy and watery, yet he couldn't take his eyes off of hers.

"Sasuke-kun, listen to me. It is way better to have almost no emotions than to have too much. We both know that." She said, her voice trembling.

Sasuke's hands gripped hers on each side of his face. They were warm on his cold face. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, two tears had slid on her cheeks down to her chin.

"That's where you are wrong, Sakura," he said, bringing a hand to her face and wiping the water off of it. "If you've lived with emotions all your life, you'll know what to do with them when you have too much. If you haven't felt much since you were a kid, like me, you have no idea of what to do and how to react when you overflow."

Sakura leaned into his hand. Her eyes slid from his eyes to his lips. To think she had wanted to kiss those ever since she had met him at the academy. It was somewhat peculiar that she had never hated him for leaving. Oh, she had been sad. But never had she been angry.

"Still, you have no idea what I'd do to be able to hide everything I feel like you do. It truly impresses me." She brought her eyes back to his.

"Alright, let's call it a tie," he said, smiling.

"What?"

"None of us has been able to prove his point, let's call this one a tie." He said it as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Er, right… Oh well, thanks for breakfast."

"No problem."

"And I'm the one who's sorry."

She hopped off the bed and headed for the bathroom. She stopped just before closing the door and turned to him.

"Erm, Sasuke-kun?"

"What is it?"

"Whoa, full answer."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Well, I was wondering if I could borrow your shirt for the day. You know, with my stained clothes and all…"

"Yeah, sure."

"Thank you."

"Anytime. And I'm the one who's sorry."

Sakura rolled her eyes and entered the bathroom.

----------------------

Sasuke had to admit, he had seen weird outfits in his life. But what Sakura was wearing was way beyond weird. She was wearing his dark blue Uchiha Clan shirt with her white skirt and her black shorts. What was weirder was that it looked a _lot_ like what he was wearing when he was a Genin.

Strangely enough, her pink hair wasn't completely off with it. Honestly, when you thought about it, pink and navy blue were as much of a great idea together as Orochimaru and a whole class of innocent and naïve Ninja Academy boy students.

**Shiver**.

After getting the (rather disgusting and disturbing) thoughts out of his head, Sasuke let his mind wander over the question he'd been asking himself ever since he had met Sakura. Over the last few months of their Genin days together, he had almost been dying to ask her.

Note the almost.

He had found himself, back when they were twelve, staring at her in the simple intent of finding the answer to his question by himself, without having to ask her. It was such a mystery, always taunting him every time he saw her. He had finally given up when he accepted to go join Mr. TPFHOH (Too Pedophile For His Own Health), since he never thought he would see her again, thus never have to wonder about that almost existential enigma again either.

Now, though, the question was back in his mind, blocking his brains and burning his tongue. He felt like he _had_ to ask her, so that his martyrdom would cease and his mind could go at peace.

And that was _hardly_ overstating it.

He tried his best not to blurt it out and look like the most pathetically lame emo ex-avenger with something on his mind. He bit his inner cheeks, munched his tongue, balled his fists, planted his nails into his palms and closed his eyes, trying to think about other things that could change his train of thoughts.

Small furry puppies running around playfully.

Birds flying gracefully in the sky.

Butterflies drifting one way or another among the flowers and the long grass in a clear meadow.

His brother suffering like Hell while he planted his Chidori into his chest.

That's it.

Calm, peaceful thoughts.

**Ahem**.

He reopened his eyes. Bad idea. His matter came back flowing in his head with such strength, he wasn't able to keep the oh-so disturbing question inside his (perfectly kissable) mouth.

"Why is your hair pink?" He blurted out.

Oh how he wanted to slap himself.

Sakura stopped abruptly. She didn't move for a moment. In his head, Sasuke was imagining what she was going to do. She would turn around slowly, a dark glare on her face, scare him out of his pants, set said pants on fire, and then play Squash-and-Pull with his balls. He was about to quietly back away when he saw her shoulders shake.

Wait. She wasn't crying, was she, now? Suddenly, he could see how hurtful that question could have been upon her. He was just about to hug her and apologize when he heard her produce a sound that wasn't quite a strangled sob.

She was laughing. Hard.

Just as he predicted, she turned around, but she didn't seem to have any ripping intent over his family jewels. Her face was crossed by a gigantic smile, her eyes were glistening with laughter and her cheeks were as red as the red part of the Uchiha fan.

He stared at her laughing face, unsure of what to think about her sanity, as she tried to control her laughter and regain a composed face. When she finally succeeded, she approached him, a huge smile still on her face and placed a hand on his left shoulder.

Oh how he was _scared._

"Sasuke-kun, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for someone to ask me that!"

Okay. That wasn't scary anymore. That was downright **terrifying**!

"W-What do you mean?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Well, ever since I was a little girl, everybody made fun of my hair. Everyone always said the same thing; my hair is not natural, it's ugly, no one will ever want to be my friend because I'm such a freak, bla bla bla. No one's ever asked me why it is so weird, though."

"Nobody could know why, since nobody asked. I was the only one to know. It felt like I had to be the only one, anyway. I didn't want anybody to make fun of _that_ part of my life."

"What part?"

"Well, first of all, my hair colour is a mix of my mum and my dad's hair colours. Anyone intelligent enough would have figured that."

Sasuke felt one of the only remaining parts of his dignity crumble at the accusation. Yes. Of course he had thought of that. He was intelligent.

**Ahem**.

"So, my mum has red hair. You know that, right?"

"Yes, of course. Wait… That would mean your father has white hair?"

"Yes, that's it."

"But, that's impossible."

Sakura shot him a questioning look. Was he really meaning to tell her it was impossible her own father had the hair colour she _knew _he had?

"How is that impossible?"

"I saw your father, on our first day at the Academy!" He sounded so convinced. "He was with you, you were with him, I saw it! You came to me on our first day, screaming "Look, Daddy, look! It's him! It's the wonderfullest boy in the world!" and pulling him towards my Dad and me. I can still remember the look of embarrassment your Dad gave mine when you reached us! I remember his face and I remember his hair! His hair was black!"

Sakura was dead silent. Doesn't happen a lot, but at that moment, she was dumbstruck, gob smacked, completely speechless. He remembered. He remembered everything. Everything she had said, everything she had done. He even remembered the day it happened!

"You-… You remember?"

"Of course, I remember! How could I forget! My brother teased me about for a whole year! But that still doesn't explain why you're saying your dad has white hair. I saw him. You called him Daddy."

"That's because he isn't my real father. I got used to call him Dad because he was the only one to whom I could say it."

"Why?"

"Nah, you don't want to hear it. It's a long boring story, useless to hear, time-consuming also, and I just might start to cry again."

"Sakura, please. I do want to hear it. Tell me?"

She looked at him for a moment, suspicious. Was he trying to find a way to make fun of her or did he really want to hear her story?

"What tells me you won't use it to blackmail me?"

"I won't, I promise."

"Oh, don't pull the promise trick on me, Uchiha. I'm not in love with you enough to actually believe one of your promises."

Sasuke ignored the insult and the insinuation to the fact that she was still in love with him. It didn't matter to him at the moment. Well, a little, but still, he really wanted to know the secret part of Sakura's life. After all, if she had a sad past too, she could join the We-Are-Angsty-And-Proud-Of-It Club he was holding with Naruto and Gaara.

Instead of voicing his thoughts, and getting her mad at him like a cow at Kimimaro's too strong bones to drink milk for them, he gave her his best puppy eyes and got down of his knees, almost begging her to tell him.

"Okay, okay," she groaned. "But if you tell it to anybody, I'll make sure the Uchiha Clan is never able to be restored, got it?"

He rose on his feet, gulped and nodded. She seemed to calm down a little bit and started to walk again.

"So, here goes. When my mum was eighteen years old, she fell in love with a fellow ninja. He had bright white hair and the most gorgeous black eyes she had ever seen. He fell in love with her too, and a few months after meeting each other, he asked her to marry him. He was twenty and she had just turned nineteen. However, before getting married, he got her pregnant."

"She was thrilled. A baby, that was wonderful! But he didn't think so. Unfortunately, he loved her so much he decided not to tell her. So she had the baby, but only wanted to get married after it turned one. Blinded by love, he accepted. But when he saw she gave more attention to the baby than to him, the love blindness went away and was replaced by the hatred blindness."

"He got distant, angry. She couldn't recognise him anymore. He became violent, he beat her and beat the baby. He even tried to kill it. She left him. She couldn't take it anymore. She ran away with her best friend. He loved the baby and he loved my mother. She eventually fell in love with him. They got married on the baby's birthday. They were so happy. The baby's actual first word was "Daddy". He had come to give her food and she had just popped it out of her mouth. Mum was so thrilled. A few months after the wedding, though, she was told the baby's biological father killed himself upon hearing of her marriage."

"She never thought of him again. The baby grew up surrounded by happiness and love, and even after learning about her real father, she never once changed the way she felt about the man she had grown up to call "Daddy". End of the story. To put it short, the first man was my biological father, the second was the one you saw at the Academy and the baby was me."

Sasuke, until then silent, couldn't think of anything to say or to do. Did he have to comfort her, or to insult the memory of her asshole of a father? Instead of any of the two, he simply asked the question that had floated in his head for a while now.

"Did you ask your mum about it or did she just came to you and told you?"

"I asked her. I actually asked her why my hair was pink." She laughed soflty.

"And what did she tell you?"

"This exact story. She even said something, a sentence, that, when you think about it just once, it makes perfect sense, and then when you analyse it, it just sounds weird."

"What is it?"

"There's a difference between being the father and being the father figure. I guess what she was trying to say was that, even if my biological father was the one to conceive me with her, he wasn't there for me like a father should."

"Hn."

"Oh, _no_! You are not speaking in one syllable words again, you hear me!"

"It's hard to ignore," he grumbled.

She suddenly shot him an amused side look. He looked at her, silently questioning her about the face she was making. She turned her eyes back on the road and smiled to herself. No need to say Sasuke was getting annoyed by it.

"What?" He asked.

"Hm. Nothing." She sounded way too innocent for it to be true.

"_What?_"

"I said nothing!" She chuckled.

"Don't bother, I know you're lying."

"Alright, alright. I was just wondering where _you _got _your_ hair from."

"Dad had browner hair, Mum had blacker hair, he passed his on to Itachi, she passed hers on to me."

Well that was brief. Unlike a certain blabbermouth girl we know who invented a whole fairytale. Said blabbermouth chuckled again.

"No, I mean, why does your hair stick out on the back of your head? It looks like a mix between a chicken's bum and a cockatoo's head."

Ouch. That hit hard.

He winced a little, trying to ignore the fact that she had been insulting him all day.

"I never really thought about it, actually. I'm not one to worry about how I look."

"Can I touch it?"

"_What!?_"

"Can I touch your hair?"

"Hum, I guess."

She raised a hand to his head and combed her fingers through his spiky hair. Her eyes widened a little, showing she obviously didn't think it would be so soft. She honestly had figured his hair would have been full of gel or hairspray. However, it was rather soft and silky. She fiddled a little bit more with it, but let her hand drop when she felt he had enough.

She fixed her eyes in front of her again. She was surprised to see they were at the gates of a village. The came to a halt, and looked past the doors. The town seemed to be in the middle of a festival. They turned their heads toward, sending a glance to each other, as if trying to find out what the other was thinking.

They stared at each other for a moment, not even bothering to talk. They were now trying to convince the other about doing what they wanted both to do. Finally, Sasuke sighed, admitting defeat and let his eyes drop to the ground, half amused, half annoyed.

"Are you sure you want to go to the festival?"

"Mm hmm," she said, nodding.

"And I guess after I'll have to pay for the room?"

"Yup." A wide grin spread across her face. He sighed again, grasped her hand and pulled her towards the gates.

What had he gotten himself into now?

----------------------

_**A/N:**__ Whew! That was long! I'm sorry I could update any faster, my tenth-grade student schedule is a bit crazy. Oh well, hope you enjoyed it. You better have, because it's currently five minutes to one a.m., I have one hell of a headache and I know I won't be able to wake up tomorrow! I might as well be PMSing, so beware of what you write in those reviews! Actually, sending one would help very much in getting me __**not**__ to rip your eyeballs out of their sockets._

_I know I'm a nice girl. _

_**Ahem**_

_Ja!_

_Queen of Pascalities_


	8. The Fair

_**A/N: **__Hey, guess what! I lost my inspiration again! I have no ideas whatsoever for this chapter. It is getting frustrating, really. Oh, and I also lost my connexion to Internet. And I'm missing school because I'm sick again. Life is great. Oh well, I know someone else who isn't enjoying life either. Support the Sasuke-has-to-enjoy-life foundation and leave a review after reading. Please. I'm not asking much here. _

_Anyway, enjoy!_

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He should be used to it by now. Travelling with Sakura gets you immune to anything of this sort. Really, nobody could get out of even just a conversation with her without having seen enough of all of it. However, Sasuke had seen himself welcoming annoyance back in his overflow of emotions as soon as he had set foot in this village, for it was full of what he had been trying to avoid for the past eight years.

Happiness.

The lights of the city were obsessing him, drawing him towards the front gates like a very stupid black fly who has no idea what's going to happen to itself after it got stuck on a particularly vivid neon. And there was also the pink-haired grass-hopper who was pulling him straight to it.

Life was cruel.

It was cruel because he just arrived to a village in the middle of a fair. It was cruel because he hated fairs. It was cruel because there was no way he could avoid the fair. It was cruel because Sakura loved fairs. It was cruel because she had asked him to go with her to the fair. It was cruel because he couldn't bring himself to tell her no.

That is why he was now dragged towards the (obviously mischievous) lights of the village, a pink-haired annoyance with a big smile on her face pulling his hand, with a slight feeling in his gut that told him something bad was going to happen.

That was when he started to wonder if his gut could define "bad".

"Come on, Sasuke-kun! I don't want to miss any of it," she hurried him.

Okay, no need for the gut to answer, he already knew how bad it was.

"Hello, miss! Welcome to our wonderful village! Are you coming to enjoy the fair?" Asked a man with a humongous moustache.

"Yes, I am!" Sakura answer (way too) happily (for Sasuke's taste).

"Well, play as much as you will, but you might want to keep your energy, the fair goes on for three days!" the man replied, giving Sakura a bright, gigantic smile which Sasuke chose not to trust. Who knows, he could be a maniac who wants to brainwash them both with his fair.

Did I mention Sasuke hated fairs?

They entered the gates and looked around, taking in the sight of the children running around their parents (most likely annoying the hell out of them) begging them to buy (dare he say) sweets and of the couples strolling two by two towards the endless line of people waiting to ride the Ferris wheel.

Pathetic idiots.

Sasuke felt Sakura's small hand grab his. Before he even had time to start to feel like it would be a good idea to maybe begin to wonder if he should try to probably someday ask her what she was doing, she started to (literally) drag him towards the Ferris wheel line. When she finally came to a stop, he was frowning and she was ranting about how great fairs were.

Sasuke sent dirty looks to men who either just came out of the Ferris wheel or possessed enough power over their girlfriends to convince them not to go on the machine of death (meaning the Ferris) who were passing by, looking rather amused at the fact that a mighty male like him had even _been_ dragged to a fair by his pink-haired girlfriend (they only assumed she was his girlfriend) and was the last in line for the Dread-ish wheel.

Sakura noticed some men walking pass them seemed to be incline on peeing in their pants and running off whimpering with their girlfriends laughing their asses off running after them and turned to her companion. She intercepted the glares he was distributing to all and tugged on his sleeve. He turned his head towards her, still frowning.

"Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?" She asked, slightly worried.

"Hn," he answered flatly.

"Oh no, you don't! You are not starting the one-syllable words again, you hear me? I've had enough of those grunts no one can understand! Now will you tell me why you're sending those poor men change their wet pants?"

Uh oh, not good. She was hissing again.

"Nothing's wrong," he answered (still as) flatly (as ever).

"Sasuke-kun, I'm not dumb. You know I'm a good psychologist, I can almost read people's minds. I know something's wrong and I won't let it go until you tell me what's bothering you so much that you need to glare at everything that's moving. And stop trying to burn that ant with your eyes, it already fainted."

Sasuke snapped his eyes away from the (apparently unconscious) insect and gave Sakura an annoyed look.

"Oh, puh-lease, don't give me that look, I may have not seen it for years but it most certainly doesn't bother me anymore!"

Sasuke ignored her.

Sakura sighed. This was going to be one hell of a long night if she didn't do anything about his behaviour. She put a hand on his chest and rose on her tiptoes to level her mouth next to his ear.

"Sasuke-kun?" She whispered almost threateningly. "Do you want me to give you a little reminder of what happened last time you irritated me?"

She felt him tense up. She smirked, pleased with herself. Her plan was working like a charm. She took his silence as a no and continued.

"Now, will you tell me what's getting you so upset?"

He sighed, trying to relax a little bit. Of course, she didn't understand. As good of a psychologist she appeared to be, she just couldn't understand his hatred for fairs. Even _he_ couldn't. Their minds were just too different. If she hadn't been threatening his power to reproduce, he wouldn't have bothered answering her.

Unfortunately, life's a bitch and so was she.

"I-…" he started.

"Yeeeees?" She urged him innocently, her smile widening.

He stared at her dumbly for a second (and a half), deciding inwardly if he should tell her or not. The part of him that was rational (and that cared for his balls' safety) was screaming at him to tell her he hated fairs. Unfortunately, the other part of him that remembered he was (supposed to be) a proud Uchiha was beating the first part to a virtual bloody pulp at the same time as preparing a thirty minutes oral presentation to show his point on why he shouldn't let a pink-haired girl's threats get to him.

He buried the thoughts of his two sides deep into his "to-be-dealt-with-later-(meaning never)" drawer in the back of his mind and reported his attention to the girl who was standing (a little bit too) close to him. Best thing to do was to answer her, he decided.

"I don't like fairs," he let out.

Sakura's eyes widened a little, and her mouth opened in an O shape. Needless to say she was surprised. She thought he would say something like "I don't want to be stuck in there with you" or something like that, but saying he hated fairs was _not _something she had planned on hearing. Of course, Sasuke in his normal thirteen-year-old state would probably have said both, but this wasn't Sasuke in his thirteen-year-old state. This was Sasuke in his seventeen-year-old-pretty-confused-and-confusing state.

If Sakura's brain had been working properly at the moment, she would have said something witty to mock him, but as I said, life's a bitch.

"You don't?"

Yeah.

Witty.

Ahem.

Sasuke looked at her intensely, either trying to show her he was dead serious or to burn her brain through her eyes. In both ways, she felt slightly uncomfortable and shifted under his gaze, something she hadn't done for years.

"No, I don't," he said a little bit angrily. "And I don't understand how come you like them so much."

Uh oh.

Another tantrum coming up.

"I mean, look around us! Mechanic rides that make you want to throw up, games that can't even a normal person's skill in aiming, ridiculous prizes, a useless and slow round thing that has way too many lights on it and happy couples that seem to be pulled straight out of the most cliché movie there's ever been in all history!"

Okay, he didn't like all that. Why did he agree on coming if he didn't like it?

"And you! You're laughing, you're playing, you're going on rides all night long and you don't even bother to ask me if I'm fine! And let me add that you make me pay for all of it! You have no idea how annoying that is! How annoying it is that you smile at me all the time, that you drag me _everywhere_ you want to go, that you ask me to do _so_ many things for or with you and that I just _can't_ tell you NO!"

Sasuke panted hard. It had taken him all his might not to scream until the end of his speech. His face had transformed into a mask of fury and his whole body was shaking. He didn't even know _why_ he was so angry. His eyes were blinded by anger until he heard someone whisper "Oh my God" somewhere behind him. His vision steadied itself and he looked in front of himself, trying to see Sakura's face.

When his eyes finally made it out neatly, he felt something in his chest sink and crash in his stomach. Sakura's frame was trembling but her cheeks were dry. Her eyes were watering but not one tear dared to slip out and slide down her face.

"Well, now you just said it, didn't you?" Her voice was low and angry, almost threatening. She raised her eyes, glaring. This time, there was nothing funny about it.

She stepped around him and left the line of the Ferris wheel. She walked high and mighty straight towards the forest that surrounded the fair and disappeared under the trees. Sasuke's body was frozen on the spot, but internally, he was vividly slapping and punching himself for being such a moron.

People around him started to whisper, telling each other how stupid that boy was. The women ranted about "the poor little pink-haired girl who didn't deserve such a treatment" while the men grunted out that "if they were that little girl's brothers, they would kick his sorry ass all the way to the fire country".

"What's the matter with you, man?" One of them asked. Sasuke turned his head to him, dumbstruck.

"Dude, don't stay there drooling like a retard!" He continued, apparently oblivious to the fact that he was currently putting his life in danger by provoking the young Uchiha.

"Go get her! Unless you want someone else to do it and steal her from you!" Sasuke sent him a questioning look. What was he talking about? Steal Sakura from _him_? She wasn't even his to begin with!

Oh, right. Those imbeciles still thought they were a couple.

"Try to imagine, mate. In a few moments, she'll come out of the woods with another guy's arms around her and she'll say you and she are over, and all that because you happen to dislike fairs. Don't let it happen! Go get her, now!"

Sasuke looked at the guy strangely. All his anger was gone, but there was still something crushing his chest. He tried to ignore it and turned towards the woods. He tried to imagine Sakura coming out of the woods with another guy, his arms around her, her smiling at him.

Nope.

Nothing.

Although, he still needed her to get back in Konoha and she wouldn't do it if she met someone. Also, if she were to be found and killed by some blood-thirsty creature, he, somehow, would never forgive himself.

Without another glance (or well-deserved glare) to the (very) brave (or completely oblivious to the fate he just escaped) guy who had provoked him, he ran after Sakura under the trees where she had disappeared just a few moments ago.

It hadn't been too long since she had left, she shouldn't be too far from the tree line, unless she had started running after vanishing from their view. Sasuke looked around, trying to spot her. The sun had set long ago and the darkness was even more intense now that he was away from the lights of the fair.

He ran a little (more like ran fast), the crushing feeling in his chest getting heavier by the second. What if he couldn't find her? What if she had really run away? Maybe she had left him behind and chose to go back to Konoha all by herself. How would he go back then? What if he got there before her and got accused of killing her?

When he finally found her, she was sitting cross-legged on the ground of a clearing. Of course. She couldn't have waited for him under the cover of the trees, she just _had_ to stop where any flying thing could see them. Her back was facing him, but he could tell by the sharp movements of her shoulders and the ripping sound she was making that she was busy tearing bits of grass from the ground.

He approached her cautiously, not wanting to get another one of her punches. When he got next to her, he stopped and looked at her hands. They were indeed pulling grass out of the earth, but the bits of grass were actually handfuls of it with a big chunk of earth under each. He raised his eyes to her face to see it was occupied by a mix between a frown, a pout and a glare.

He slowly sat down next to her and began ripping grass like her. He fiddled with the bit he had just pulled before opening and then closing his mouth, not knowing what to say. Sakura seemed to sense it and spoke in his place.

"If I'm such a pain in the ass, why are you still here?" She asked with an annoyed voice.

Sasuke stayed silent, trying to find the right words. He knew she was easily pissed off and the least thing he wanted to do was to anger her. He sighed, leaned and closed his eyes. He could almost feel her gaze on his crouched body. After determining what exactly it was he wanted to say, he rose up again, inhaled slowly and finally spoke up.

"You're not a pain in the ass. Well, sometimes you are, but not today. I just didn't like being in that fair, surrounded by happy couples and families. It irritates me, because it reminds me of what I wasn't able to have because of my brother," he said, looking at her, wondering how she would react.

This time, she was the one who remained silent. She had stopped depriving the ground of grass around herself and had started fiddling with a clover she had picked up a few seconds before. She stared at it intently, not wanting to look at the young Uchiha next to her.

Sasuke brought his eyes back to his hands. It was all he could say. It was his only reason. Well, his only _valuable_ reason. There were other reasons, but they were all stupider than the others, like the fact that he was uncomfortable having everyone think of them as a couple when they were absolutely _not_.

"Why did you come after me?" He heard Sakura say.

"What?"

"Why did you come after me? Why didn't you go and wait for me at a hotel in town?" She repeated.

"I-…" he started.

Sakura turned her head towards him. He looked confused, staring at his hands. She looked back down at her own hands. She tried to figure what exactly a by-passer would think if he saw both of them sitting there. That by-passer would probably think they looked like two complete idiots unable to tell each other what they really want to say.

"I was worried," Sasuke suddenly blurted out.

She turned her head towards him. Not only did he seem confused, he also had a look of incredulity and dreadful realization plastered on his handsome face. Sakura smiled. That was all she wanted to know. She wouldn't push him any farther for the rest of the night. She rose to her feet and offered him her hand. He looked up to her in a questioning glance.

"Come on, we need to get to that hotel before they run out of rooms."

He (almost) smiled and took her hand. She pulled him on his feet and started to walk, still holding his hand, a content grin on her face.

----------------------

When they got to the hotel, the manager told them they were lucky that most of the people who came to the fair lived in the village. After making Sasuke pay (he still was the only one who had money), he led them to a room on the second floor.

As soon as the door was closed, Sasuke let himself drop on the bed with a long sigh. Sakura looked at him for a moment, her lips curved up in a small smile, then approached him slowly and sat next to his lying figure on the bed. She observed his face, the way his shorter bangs brushed against his closed eye-lids, how all his facial muscles seemed to relax, how his skin reflected the blue light coming through the window of the room.

She slowly approached her hand to his face and let her fingers brush against his cheek, his eye-brows, and push his hair out of the way. He opened his eyes, slightly startled by her touch, and locked his eyes with hers. She smiled again, a little more widely, let her hand softly drop on the mattress, leaned down, pressed her lips against his forehead, just above his left brow, leaving there the first kiss she had ever given him then pulling away slightly.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun," she whispered.

She went under the cover of the bed, took off her skirt, rolled on her side and closed her eyes. She felt the mattress move before his warm body joined hers under the sheets. She unconsciously snuggled towards him, drifting away, and, before sleep overtook her, she heard him say:

"Anytime."

----------------------

_**A/N: **__Oh my God, I'm so sorry it took so long! I just really blocked on this one because I had no idea what to write in it. At first, it was just meant to be a chapter-link (a chapter-link is a useless chapter that some authors use to link to parts of the story that don't really coincide). _

_Don't worry, the other chapters won't take as long as this one since I already have the plot for them. Next chapter I post will probably be for _France_, and I might do a few other oneshots, then I'll try to finish the second chapter of _Band Camp_, and I'll try to make it all and more for you as a Christmas gift. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then consider it an early New Year's present._

_Ja!_

_Queen of Pascalities_


	9. It All Comes Back

A/N: Here I am again

_**A/N: **__Sue me all you want, I couldn't update before. Yes, I am aware of the fact that I wrote many oneshots recently, but I had inspiration for _them_, not for _this_. There will be a lot going on in this chapter, so you might think it's kind of rushed, but a lot of the action in there is somewhat useless. As much as I love this story, I can't wait to start another one, so I'm speeding it up a bit so I'll finish it sooner. _

_Enjoy!_

--

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes, not quite ready to welcome the (painfully too bright for 7 am) sunlight that was creeping through the curtains of the hotel room he had been sleeping in a minute ago. Not entirely awake, he didn't notice the emptiness of the space beside him on the bed or the soft trickle of the shower. No, he was still very much asleep and in his own thoughts, making him miss the fact that the door of the bathroom was closed and that perhaps he shouldn't enter.

So he entered.

--

Sakura had woken up very early that morning. She had noticed how sticky and sweaty she had gotten since her last shower. With a slight face of disgust (which had resulted of smelling her armpits), she climbed out of bed and had dragged herself to the bathroom. She hadn't bothered sniffing Sasuke off, but she was convinced he smelled just as bad and promised herself not to leave the hotel room until he had taken a shower as well.

She took off her clothes (that would make her stink again after her shower) and walked to the shower after closing the door. Sasuke was still asleep, and he would probably hear the water running anyway, so she figured she wouldn't need to lock it.

Ahem.

She turned the water on, waited until it was warm enough and stepped in. She let the water run through her hair and down her back in delight and closed her eyes. It was such a good feeling that she almost fell asleep. It was the clicking of the door that took her out of her dizziness. She listened carefully, wondering if she had heard right, but when she didn't hear anything else she shrugged, pushed the thought away and closed her eyes again.

The dizziness came back and she didn't notice when the curtain of the shower was pushed aside. However, she _did _notice when someone stepped in and when _that_ someone turned out to be Mister Sleepy Emo himself.

"Sasuke!? What the hell are you doing in here!?" she shrieked.

"Mntakin'ashowerng," he muttered.

"Wha- You can't! _I_'m taking a shower!"

"Hn. MnIcantoohm."

"No you can't! Get out!"

"Mno."

"Yes! Get out! Get out this instant!"

"Mn."

"Sasuke. Get. _Out_."

Oh. No answer.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you'd better get out of thisshower before I do something drastic!"

Silence.

"Sasuk-…!"

Weird enough, that was not how she planned to get her first kiss. Not in a shower with a missing-nin who happens to have emotion problems and who _needs _to brush his teeth really badly. No. But that's how it happened. As she lost control over her body and felt herself kiss back, she figured it could have been worse. She could have not known the guy, while on a seducing mission and about to have sex with said unknown guy. Now she was just kissing a guy who used to be her teammate while on a (not-so) simple mission and was in a simply compromising position as if they _were_ going to have sex (both naked in the shower. You get the idea.)

So, yeah.

It wasn't _that _bad.

Oh, wait. Yes it was.

Where were that prick's hands headed?

_Oh God._

Sense came back to her along with her body control, so she "humpf"-ed, put her hands on his (oh-so-firm-and-muscular-and-strong-and-every-other-adjective-to-qualify-a-wonderful) chest and pushed with all her chakra-less might.

"Oof," was the jolly answer of the mighty Uchiha as he slammed into the wall.

That seemed to wake him up alright.

"Sakura? What's going on? What are you doing in the shower with me? And why do I have a-…"

BAM.

"OW! SAKURA!? WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!?"

"_That_ was for almost being gross."

SLAP.

"OW! _SAKURA_!"

"And _that_ was for kissing me. Now get out."

"No."

"And why not?"

"I deserve a shower as much as you do and you already had yours. You get out."

"I'm not getting out! I was here first!"

"Yes. Now it's time for you to leave."

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is."

"No it's not!"

"Fine, then. Stay here. I don't care."

"Hmpf!"

Sakura huffed out of the shower, outraged. How _dare _he? How dare he come in the shower while she's there, kiss her like he has a right to and make her leave before she's done? Oh, that man is going to get it when he comes out.

--

Of course, he _had _to take all his time and stay in the shower for forty-five minutes. He probably had anticipated that Sakura was going to do something related to not fun to him. Either he was mentally preparing himself to get the beating of his life, or he was just waiting until he felt it was the right moment to come out because she had miraculously calmed down.

Either way, it wasn't very useful.

Sakura had just spent the last forty-five minutes falling asleep again, sitting (and eventually lying) on the bed, clad in her towel (she had forgotten her clothes in the bathroom). Her long pink hair was lying around her head, wetting the bed sheets, her eyes were closed and her face was peaceful, as if she had been safe at home, back in Konoha. When Sasuke came out of the bathroom, his black hair dripping and sticking to his face, he noticed the kunoichi's expression and felt something pinch in his chest.

Not because he might have thought she was incredibly pretty or devilishly sexy in her very short white towel, but because it was the first time he had seen her genuinely peaceful since he had left the village five years before. Two years ago, when they had all met in Orochimaru's lair, he wouldn't have cared one bit about her being peaceful or not, but at that moment, being the subject to a whole damn lot of contradictory emotions, he found it hard to ignore.

However, he did (manage to) take control of himself, put boxers on and put Sakura under the covers, intending to stay there and wait until she woke up.

--

Sakura opened her eyes slowly, wondering where she was. She sat up and took in the picture of the hotel room, the window with the shades open and the Uchiha avenger asleep next to her. She stretched her arms and yawned, feeling the bed sheets slide down her bare chest and create a puddle of soft fabric on her lap.

Wait, _what_?

Bare _chest_?

With a start, Sakura pulled the covers over her head and discovered, much to her greatest horror, her completely naked body. She instantly hid it under the sheets again, fearing Sasuke might wake up and see her.

Then it struck her.

The guy was sleeping next to her, _on _the bed, clad only in his boxers, and _she _was stark naked. They hadn't… had they? She tried to remember anything from the morning. Much to her relief, she could remember everything she had done until she fell asleep. She had been thrown out of the shower, had mentally cursed Sasuke to death, then had laughed at the fact that what had just happened was almost exactly how they had met a dew days before, then she had felt drowsy, had lain down on the bed only in her towel and had probably fallen asleep then. In that case, why was she now naked and under the covers?

Unless…

_No_. He couldn't possibly have…

Could he?

Sure, Sasuke was a missing-nin and somewhat a murderer, but he had principles, didn't he? He couldn't have abused of her while she was asleep, could he? He was far too considerate to take a girl's virginity without at least asking her before and far too inclined on rebuilding his clan, for which he had to be legally married to the mother of his children, to just have sex with any girl that crossed his path.

Wasn't he?

Then, out of the blue, she regained control of her thoughts and remembered that if she had, in any way, lost her virginity, there would be a bit of blood on the bed sheets beneath her. Without taking the covers off of her, she slid a bit to the side to look at the spot where she was sitting. Again much to her relief, there wasn't any blood, not where she sat and nowhere else either. Then again, it could have been on her towel, which was nowhere to be seen.

Upon deciding it would be a much better idea to get dressed before the Uchiha woke up, Sakura climbed out of bed. As soon as her foot reached the ground, she felt something that wasn't exactly floor-like. She looked down and saw the long-sought towel. She picked it up hurriedly, hoping to find it as clean as it should have been. Fortunately, it was. There wasn't any blood on it. Sakura exhaled a sigh of relief, wrapped herself in the towel and walked to the bathroom, where she had forgotten her clothes.

When she came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and unfortunately reeking because of the unwashed clothes, she found Sasuke still sleeping on the bed, his back to her. She approached the bed and sat on it, observing the young man. Her eyes went from the waistband of his boxers to his spiked up hair, brushing over his back, until she noticed the lack of the all-too-familiar mark on his left shoulder.

She reached out to brush her fingers over the bit of skin where the curse mark was supposed to be. The skin was warmer than she had expected. It was a lot softer, too. She traced the pattern of the mark slowly, as if she was trying to draw it on his shoulder again, until she felt Sasuke shift. She retrieved her hand with a start as he turned to her, his sleepy eyes half-closed and his hair partially covering his face, which held a rather confused look.

"What are doing?" He mumbled.

"Nothing!" Sakura answered, worried he would react badly.

She turned around and faced the other side of the room. She heard him sigh and sit up in the bed. She waited until he spoke again.

"You know, from my point of view, that was no nothing you were doing. It actually felt like you were feeling up my shoulder."

"No! I swear, I wasn't!"

"Then what _were _you doing?"

"Er…"

"Yes?"

"I was, er… Iwastouchingwhereyourcursemarkisupposedtobe."

"What?"

"I was touching where your curse mark is supposed to be."

"Oh."

"W-… Why isn't it there anymore?"

"It's just gone."

"Oh."

Sasuke got up and went to get his clothes in the bathroom. Sakura watched him put on his shirt, then his pants and, for some reason, felt tears come to her eyes. One of them slid down her cheek and she started sobbing. Upon hearing her sniffling, Sasuke turned his head to her and came out of the bathroom, a confused and slightly concerned look on his face. He sat down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura? Why are you crying? What's wrong?" He asked, worried, sounding like a little boy talking to his mother.

Sakura's sobs grew louder and she leaned down to his shoulder. He let her rest her head in the crook of his neck and even put his arm around her. He could feel he tears wet his sleeve.

"It's just that… During the last few days, I-… I felt so… So close to you, because you were… You were letting your emotions out and you actually let me reach out to you. You were almost relying on me. Did you know that it-… That it was the first time that I ever saw you smiling? Not smirking, just… Just smiling. And now, I feel like you're… You're slipping away from me. You're-… You're going back to your old self, the one that didn't care about anything but revenge, and I don't want that to happen."

Sasuke didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. He just sat there in silence, waiting for her to keep on talking. After a bit more sobbing, she went on.

"I came to realize that… If I wasn't in love with you before, I had just fallen in love with you, and… Now that you're becoming more and more like your old emotionless self, I… I don't think I want to love you anymore. In fact, I-… I think I might hate you. For real, this time."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He leant away from Sakura, staring at her with a look of disbelief on his features. Sakura sent him the most painful, regretful glance he had ever seen and he felt a pain in his chest again. His hand fell limp on the mattress as she stood up and walked to the door. Sasuke watched her open the door and instantly realized that he didn't want her to leave. He got up and followed her out in the corridor.

"Where are you going?"

"Outside. To walk. I need to think some things through."

He saw her turn around again, her back facing him, and walk out of the corridor. He went back into the room, slammed the door and punched the wall, tears streaming down his face. Of all the emotions he had been experiencing in the past few days, the one he was feeling was the one with the worst timing.

Because Sasuke, in his not-really-experienced-with-emotions mind, had found out that he was in love with Sakura.

--

When Sakura came back, he was sitting on the bed, his head between his hands. His tears had dried long ago but he still felt miserable. She didn't spare him a glance, she simply gathered her things and told him to do the same.

"We're leaving in ten minutes." And she went out of the room again.

--

During the next eight days, neither Sasuke nor Sakura said anything to the other, doing their best to ignore each other. They walked in silence, ate far from each other and rented rooms with two beds instead of one. They both carefully made sure that they didn't come in contact with the other. Sakura had found a laundromat where she washed her shirt and had given Sasuke his blue shirt back without a word or a glance.

Although they wanted each other to think they didn't care abut the other, they both knew how miserable they were. It hurt the both of them to spend every single second of the day without talking or touching.

Sasuke craved her touch. Ever since he had realized he was in love with Sakura, he had been wishing he could take her in his arms and kiss her like there was no tomorrow. When he went to bed, he wished she would come in his bed and sleep next to him. She never did.

Sakura wished he would just say something. Just to remind her that he was there and that he hadn't been just a dream for the last eleven days. When he wasn't looking, she would send his back a regretful glance. She missed the nights when he fell asleep next to her and cuddled with her unconsciously. The beds where she had slept had felt even colder than the cold treatment he was giving her. Had Sasuke been awake and looking at her every night, he would have seen tears slide down her cheeks, out of her closed eyes.

Soon enough, they found themselves in Suna, which meant that they were three days from Konoha. As they were setting their things in the hotel room they had rented, Sakura spoke to Sasuke for the first time in eight days.

"I'm going out to take a walk. Don't wait for me to go to bed." And with that, she went out of the room.

Once outside, she found out that it had started raining, something that really didn't happen often in Suna. Sasuke, from inside their hotel room, saw it too and wondered if he should go get Sakura before she got sick. Then he reckoned she would just ignore him, he decided against it.

He waited two hours for her to come back. The rain hadn't stopped and had, in fact, gotten heavier. He looked worriedly out the window, hoping to find her coming back to the hotel, but he didn't see her. Going back on his previous judgement, Sasuke decided to go search for her and left the room.

He walked for ten minutes before he found her, sitting alone on the ground of some empty space, crying. The image made the pain in his chest grow more painful. He stared at her for a few minutes, then spoke.

"Sakura."

She turned to him, her eyes full of tears. She didn't look surprised, but angry. She got up and walked up to him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked dryly.

"I'm here to get you back to the hotel. You've been out here for two hours."

"Why do _you _care?"

"Because, I-…"

"No. Don't tell me. It wouldn't be true anyway, would it? Just like when you said you didn't want to be like you used to be."

"Sakura, I-…"

"No! You lied about that, and you probably lied about everything else you told me."

"No, Sakura, listen-…"

"Shut up! If you're just going to lie, don't bother. I bet you never planned on coming back to Konoha. I bet your new teammates are still alive and they're waiting for you to make them enter the village."

"No, that's not-…"

"Oh, and when you said I reminded you of your mother. That was a lie too, wasn't it?"

"Sakura-…"

"I SAID SHUT UP! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY MORE LIES! YOU HURT ME! YOU MADE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU AND YOU USED IT AGAINST ME! YOU LIED TO ME EVER SINCE WE MET IN THAT SHOWER AND I'M PRETTY SURE EVERYTHING THAT FOLLOWED WAS A PART OF YOUR PLAN!"

"Sakura, I-…"

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME YOU CARE ABOUT ME GETTING SICK! YOU NEVER CARED ABOUT ME, OR ABOUT ANYONE FOR THAT MATTER! YOU NEVER LOVED ANYONE-…"

"I LOVE _YOU_, DAMNIT! ARE YOU SO DENSE THAT YOU DIDN'T NOTICE IT? I LOVE YOU! I NEVER LIED TO YOU, I NEVER WOULD! I'D BE WAY TOO SCARED FOR THAT!"

"DON'T TRY BEING FUNNY NOW, IT'S NOT THE RIGHT MOMENT-…"

"I'M NOT BEING FUNNY! I'D BE SCARED TO LOSE YOU! NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS WOULD I MAKE YOU MAD ON PURPOSE!"

"YOU DID! YOU DID MAKE ME MAD ON PURPOSE! WHEN WE MET, DON'T YOU REMEMBER?"

"THAT'S CALLED TEASING, SAKURA! AND IN CASE YOU DON'T REMEMBER, YOU PUNCHED THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME AND YOU ALMOST RIPPED MY BALLS OFF!"

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!"

"I'M NOT CHANGING THE SUBJECT, YOU ARE!"

"NO, I'M NOT!"

"YES, YOU ARE! THE POINT IS, I'M COMPLETELY IN LOVE WITH YOU AND I'M SCARED SHITLESS THAT YOU DON'T LOVE ME ANYMORE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH IT HURT ME WHEN YOU SAID THAT YOU HATED ME FOR REAL? AND WHEN YOU IGNORED ME LIKE I WAS SOME USELESS ROCK LYING ON THE GROUND? IT HURT RIGHT HERE!" He slammed his hand against his chest and tears started to flow out of his eyes.

"I'M PRETTY SURE THAT MEANS THAT I LOVE YOU! AND I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO MY EMOTIONLESS SELF! I NEVER LIED ABOUT THAT! EVEN THOUGH IT HASN'T BEEN ENJOYABLE AT ALL UP UNTIL NOW, I WANT TO FEEL LOVE! I WANT TO LOVE YOU! MOST OF ALL, I WANT AND I _NEED_ TO KNOW IF YOU STILL LOVE ME!

Sakura's mouth was opened. She was speechless. She stared at Sasuke, dumbfounded, tears still running out of her eyes. She watched him as he sniffled, wiped his nose with his wet sleeve and walked towards her. He stopped millimetres from her and whispered:

"Do you love me?"

Something inside Sakura snapped and she lunged at him, locking her lips with his.

--

_**A/N: **__Don't hate me! The story is not over yet, don't worry. It's just that it's 1:52 am here and I need to go to bed soon. Also, if I had continued, I would have made this chapter forty-three pages long, so I think it's better if I stop it here. I'll write the next chapter tomorrow (or rather, later today). Just so everyone knows, there are about two chapters left until this story is finished._

_Don't forget to review and to check my profile._

_See ya!_

_Queen of Pascalities_


	10. Wet Kisses and Dry Season

A/N: As promised, here is the tenth chapter

_**A/N: **__As promised, here is the tenth chapter. I slept seven hours and it's now 9:43 am. If you didn't want to read a lemon, go away, the following chapter contains one. And a half. For those who _want _to read them, I won't make you wait any longer._

_Enjoy!_

--

"_Do you love me?"_

_Something inside Sakura snapped and she lunged at him, locking her lips with his._

--

Their kiss was rough, angry and frustrated. Sakura's hands were in his hair, pulling at it, and her legs were wrapped around him. He was holding her up, one arm under her backside and the other around her back, pulling her as close as possible.

Sasuke fell to his knees, bringing Sakura with him. She landed on her back with a grunt, but went on kissing him. Their tongues were colliding and gliding against the other's. The rain was still falling down on them, and somewhere in the back of their minds, they thanked whoever was taking care of the weather for producing a storm that made people stay in their houses.

Sasuke started unzipping her top, already thinking about kissing her breasts and making her moan out his name, but then he realized it would probably alert someone, and he certainly didn't want anyone to find them having sex in the middle of Suna.

"Sakura," he grunted out between kisses. "We can't… We can't do it…"

"What do you mean, we can't do it?" She said after stopping her kissing frenzy. "Don't you want to do it?"

"Yes, no, I mean, I want to do it, but not here."

"You want us to wait until we're in Konoha?"

"No, I mean, not here, out in the open. I think we should head back to the hotel."

"Oh, right, yet, let's-…"

He didn't let her finish, he had already slammed in mouth back against hers and had picked her up from the ground, her unzipped shirt dangling around her.

The walk back to the hotel was rather complicated, since Sasuke had Sakura in his arms, thus he couldn't always see where he was going, plus she was kissing and licking his neck, moaning (he had no idea why), which kinda made him lose in concentration a few times. He sometimes squished her between a random wall and himself and kissed the living hell out of her just to remember that he had to take her to the hotel.

Once they were in their room, it didn't take long before their clothes were ripped off of their bodies and the found themselves under the covers, kissing as hungrily as ever. Sakura could feel Sasuke's hand roam all over her body, touching her where no one had ever touched her. He kissed her throat, her collarbone and finally, her breasts. He ran his tongue over her nipples and fiddled with them with his teeth, encouraged by the moans that were coming from her throat and her fingers in his hair the were pushing is head down. He planted a rough kiss between her two soft mounds and went lower.

His tongue trailed down her stomach, then he kissed her belly button and went to her womanhood. As soon as he tickled her clitoris with his tongue, her hip bucked and she let out her loudest moan. Her legs were folded over his shoulders and her hands were still in his hair, pulling him as close as she could to her sex. Her body was starting to tremble and Sasuke gripped her hips to hold her still.

"Sasuke!" She pleaded, and she pulled his head up to hers. They locked lips again, their tongues dancing inside each other's mouth.

Without asking her if she was ready (she had seemed to be, but she might have been having second thoughts), he lifted her hips, his lips still on hers, and thrust into her. She let out a shriek that was muffled by Sasuke's mouth, and opened her eyes wide, uncontrolled tears falling out.

Sakura felt like she had been ripped in to. She was aware that it was going to hurt on her first time, but she hadn't expected it to be so painful. Sasuke didn't seem to notice. Every time he thrust back inside of her, she made a small cry and her fingernails dug in his shoulders, so he simply assumed she was enjoying it. Seeing that he hadn't understood that she was in pain, she tried to tell him the best she could.

"Sas-… Sasuke… It hurts, Sasuke… Sasuke-kun, it hurts."

Sasuke finally realized there was something wrong. Without stopping his movements, he stared at her tears with horror, then gathered her in his arms and whispered in her ears.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Sakura. Ssshh, it's okay. I'm sorry. It'll be over soon, I promise."

She held onto him with all of her might, not even thinking of making him stop. Just like he promised, the pain soon wore out and she started feeling pleasure again. Her cries were replaced by moans. She could hear Sasuke grunt in her ear with every thrust he made.

She soon felt a knot in her stomach and something warm building up between her legs. Her moans became louder and her fingernails dug even further in Sasuke's back. She felt her vagina clench down on his manhood and all her muscles went limp. Her orgasm hit her full force and she came, bringing him with her just few seconds later. She felt his sperm spreading inside of her, but in the dazed and dazzled state of mind she was, she didn't pay attention to it. He thrust into her a few times again, grunting her name, then stopped moving, his member going limp inside her.

He held onto her, panting, their sweaty skin sticking to the other's. They stayed in that position until they had caught their breath again and then they allowed themselves to move. Sasuke slid out of her, fell onto his side and pulled her in his arms. He kissed her forehead and ran hand through her hair. He felt her arms slide around his torso and her face snuggle in his chest.

They both closed their eyes, still slightly panting and fell asleep, their minds blank.

--

Sasuke woke up in the middle of the night, panting and sweating. For some reason, the dream he had been having (about Sakura) had turned to a nightmare and his subconscious had pulled him from sleep. The light of the bathroom came to his eyes, blinding him for a few seconds. When his eyesight came back to normal, he looked around on the bed just to find that Sakura was missing.

He got up and walked to the bathroom. Just when he was going to enter, Sakura came into his view, about to come out of the small room. She jumped back when she saw him. Sasuke noticed she was rather unstable on her legs.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun. I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Er… No. I… Woke up on my own. What were you doing in the bathroom?"

"Well, I think it's quite obvious of what I was doing."

"I didn't hear the toilet."

Sakura looked at him for a few seconds, then looked away, blushing. Of course. Mister was a genius. He could tell when she, or anyone else for that matter, was lying, since he always noticed even the slightest details.

"I was taking painkillers," she admitted.

"Why? Are you feeling sick?"

"No, I-… I'm actually…"

"Yes?"

"My back hurts. My legs too. I can barely stand on my feet. You have no idea how painful it is for me to be up on my legs, right now."

"Why do your legs and your back hurt?"

"Er…" Sakura's blush grew darker.

"You were kinda... Erm... You were a bit… rough, when we… You know…"

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"I-… I h-hurt you?"

"Oh, no, don't-… Don't take it like that, Sasuke-kun! It's fine, really, I-…"

"No. No, it's not fine. I hurt you. Sakura, I'm so sorry. Please… Please, forgive me! I didn't mean it!"

"No, Sasuke-kun, calm down! It's fine, I tell you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Sakura chuckled.

She rose on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips. He gripped the back of her neck and pulled her closer. She circled his torso with her arms and opened her mouth to his tongue. He brought her to the bed and plopped down on it, making her fall with him. He pulled the covers over both of them and hugged her close to his body. She closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep, all the while thinking to herself that one of Sasuke's last emotions, self-underestimation, had just flown out of his system.

--

When Sakura woke up the next morning, she was almost afraid to open her eyes, in case Sasuke had indeed only been a dream and had vanished. Fortunately, when she opened them, she found Sasuke looking at her, a sleepy smile creeping up to his face when he saw she was awake.

"Good morning," he said, pulling her closer and giving her a kiss on her forehead.

She smiled too and snuggled closer to him. She sighed and closed her eyes again. If she could stay in that place with him forever, she would. Somewhere in the back, in the very far back of her mind, she wished they didn't have to go back to Konoha. She wished they could just find themselves a random peaceful village and start a family there. Start the new Uchiha clan.

Unfortunately, she knew they couldn't. Tsunade would send ninjas to search for her and if they found her with Sasuke, they would either accuse him of kidnapping her and kill him or accuse her of high treason and kill them both. The perspective wasn't particularly joyful, so she convinced herself to go back to Konoha as she had decided in the first place and wait to see if she could be with Sasuke.

She opened her eyes again, squirmed out of Sasuke's embrace and climbed out of the bed, which made Sasuke sit up and look at her with a questioning look on his sleepy face. She smiled at him over her shoulder.

"I'm going to take a shower."

He smirked, getting what she meant.

"You won't punch me, this time, will you?" He heard a chuckle from Sakura.

"Nope."

And he followed her in the bathroom. Sakura waited for him to join her, and although her back and her legs hurt, she found herself looking forward to what was coming next.

A few moments later, her backside was slamming in the wall of the shower as Sasuke pumped in and out of her, and their moans and grunts filled the steamy room.

--

They had been walking for three hours, now, and Sakura had been whining and complaining for two of them. She kept on saying that her legs hurt and that she couldn't walk anymore, which probably wasn't true, since she had been saying it for two hours, during which she neither stopped nor was carried by Sasuke.

Actually, Mister Happy-Emo here had grown very irritated of her behaviour and had a very hard time not losing his temper. Let's just say Sakura wasn't exactly making it easier for him.

"Sasuke-kuuuuun, can we stop? My legs reeeeaaaally huuuuuurt."

Sasuke took a deep breath.

Must not lose temper.

Must not lose temper.

Must no-…

"Ah, nevermind. I don't need your approval. I'm sitting down whether you like it or not."

Phew.

Did not loose temper.

Sasuke watched as Sakura plopped down on the ground, her long pink hair flowing behind her like a big curtain, shining under the sun that had miraculously reappeared in the sky. (Yeah, right. We all know it's because you two made up and had sex last night.) He sighed and sat next to her. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. There were a few minutes of silence until Sakura spoke again.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn?"

"How many kids do you want?"

…

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Yes, but still, I'm being dumfounded here."

"Oh."

"Why do you ask me that?"

"I just want to know."

Then, it hit him.

"Wait. Last night, when we… We didn't… I didn't have… I didn't have a…"

"What?"

"Are you pregnant?"

"What? No!"

"But, last night, I…"

"Yes, last night, you didn't wear a condom. However, girls have a period of the month that I like to call the dry season, which is situated between the actual period and the ovulating period, and I just happen to be in my dry season. Which means I can't be impregnated, even if I wanted to."

"Oh. Then, why-…"

"I only asked because, if I am to be the mother of your children, I need to know how many you want, so I can either get used to the idea or fight you about it."

"Oh."

"Stop saying "oh" dumbly and answer my question."

"Er… Actually, I… I never really thought about it."

"Well, if you're open to suggestions, I'll warn you that this body cannot produce more than five, six at the most. You try giving me triplets on my sixth pregnancy and I beat you to a bloody pulp. And you know I'm able to do so."

Sasuke gulped and nodded.

--

That night they stayed at a small inn, less than a day's walk away from the village. They arrived there at around ten o'clock in the night, since they had taken all their time to arrive (they had ran into bushes quite a few times on the way), and Sasuke was holding Sakura on his back, his arms around her knees.

He didn't even bother putting her on the ground while he paid for the room, in which there was only one bad, mind you, and almost kicked the door off when they arrived to their room. Once inside, he put her down and kissed her passionately, to what she responded joyfully and pushed her towards the bed.

--

_**A/N: **__There! Only one left! There won't be any more explicit scenes, but there will probably be explicit language. _

_Don't forget to go check my profile._

_See ya!_

_Queen of Pascalities_


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